"The EPA will redefine waters of the US, or WOTUS, to comply with the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA, which lifted Clean Water Act jurisdiction on many wetlands, Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday.
The Environmental Protection Agency also said wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act are only those that directly abut navigable waterways, according to new guidance on how federal agencies shall respond to Sackett.
The EPA will pursue a “definition that is simple and durable and withstands the test of time,” Zeldin said during an announcement in Washington. “This is to simply follow the rule of law.”
The agency will hold a series of public “listening sessions” that will “inform any future administrative actions” on the definition of WOTUS, according to a draft Federal Register notice EPA published alongside the guidance.
The EPA will review the current definition, and the listening sessions will focus on hearing from people who were “sidelined during the previous administration,” the agency said in a news release."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment March 12, 2025.
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