Last month, the Trump administration moved to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act, cutting some waterways out of the law’s protections. Environmentalists say the change, if adopted, would increase flood risks and water pollution across the United States.
The move came in the form of a proposed EPA regulation to redefine “waters of the United States (WOTUS),” the legal concept underpinning the Clean Water Act’s requirements. Under the proposal, waterways would have to meet additional, stricter requirements in order to qualify for the Clean Water Act’s protections, and some would be excluded outright. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on November 20, but hasn’t been finalized or implemented.
Under the Clean Water Act, it’s illegal to discharge any pollutant from a point source into waters of the U.S. without a permit from the EPA. But what exactly qualifies as a “water of the U.S.”? That’s what the new proposal limits.
By reducing the number of wetlands and waterways covered by the Clean Water Act, the new proposal would increase water pollution and flooding risks across the country, Haley Gentry, assistant director at the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy, tells Sentient. Wetlands are powerful carbon sinks, and one study estimated that each hectare of wetlands in the U.S. prevents between $1,840 and $8,000 of flood damage.
The Trump administration’s proposal is open to public comment until January 5th, 2026, after which the EPA — assuming it wants to move forward — will release a finalized version of the new regulatory text. Federal law requires that the final version be posted for at least 30 days before being enacted.
