EPA’s Narrowed Definition of WOTUS Threatens Water Quality
By: Organizational Admin
Waterkeeper Alliance is sounding the alarm about the newly announced draft rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army to revise the definition of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which further undermines landmark clean water protections, threatening water quality across the United States.
By narrowing the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act, this reinterpretation removes federal safeguards from many rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and other vital waterways. Without oversight, these waters face increased risks from pollution, threatening clean drinking water, recreation, fisheries, and aquatic life.
The Clean Water Act has already been severely weakened following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, in which the Court dramatically revoked protections for thousands of bodies of water across the country. This new draft rule takes these rollbacks even further and follows EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s plans earlier this year to revise wastewater regulations for coal-burning power plants, roll back coal ash management regulations, and reconsider the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. He has also withdrawn standards that could have cleaned up water pollution from slaughterhouses, announced plans to weaken PFAS drinking water standards, and ordered the closure of EPA offices responsible for addressing disproportionate pollution in low-income and rural communities and communities of color.
Collectively, these actions threaten to reverse more than five decades of progress to reduce highly toxic and dangerous pollutants from the environment and protect critical water resources from dangerous development projects.
“Every rollback threatens the water we drink, the rivers we fish, and the wetlands that protect our communities and ecosystems,” said Kelly Hunter Foster, Senior Attorney for Waterkeeper Alliance. “EPA’s new draft WOTUS rule continues to prioritize corporate interests by compromising the already weakened protections for thousands of water bodies across the country. This isn’t abstract policy, it’s a deliberate decision that disregards the real consequences for people’s health, safety, and daily lives. Waterkeeper Alliance will keep fighting for the clean water that we all need and deserve.”
From challenging rollbacks like the 2015 “Clean Water Rule” to filing lawsuits against the 2019 “Waters of the United States” definition, Waterkeeper Alliance has remained committed to ensuring that federal safeguards for clean water are upheld. In 2022, the organization filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the Clean Water Act. Now, with Administrator Zeldin’s latest actions, including weakening safeguards for wastewater regulations and clean water protections for the nation’s waterways, Waterkeeper Alliance is more determined than ever to fight these rollbacks, engage in the public stakeholder process, and protect clean water for all communities.