EPA Seeks Stakeholder Feedback For Implementation Of WOTUS

On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the Agencies) announced plans to engage stakeholders in the Trump administration's latest effort to pare back the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Agencies will hold a series of listening sessions in April and May on specific topics to gather perspectives on defining and regulating WOTUS. The Agencies will also accept written feedback submitted by April 23, 2025.

The definition of WOTUS establishes the scope of waters subject to federal jurisdiction under the CWA. After decades-long debate and litigation over the appropriate scope of WOTUS and multiple attempts to define the term through regulation, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023), clarified the definition's jurisdictional reach. The Court held that CWA jurisdiction extends to wetlands only if they have a