Publication
Waters of the U.S. Listening Session Complete, Revised WOTUS Definition on the Horizon
On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army Corp of Engineers (Corps) announced1 they have concluded a “robust series of listening sessions” seeking stakeholder input regarding the implementation of the definition of the “waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act (WOTUS).
The agencies recently held a total of nine public listening sessions from April 29 to May 29, 2025 virtually and across the country. According to the agencies, these listening sessions revealed a great deal of insight, including the frustrations with the “constantly shifting WOTUS definition” and the pleas for the definition to be revised “to provide consistency for the regulated community that will stand the test of time.”2 Other input included confusion over what is considered jurisdictional waters especially in regard to ditches, but also, other features such as stock ponds, prior converted cropland, wetlands, “ephemeral” drainages, etc.3
Strong support for the agencies to revise the 2023 WOTUS definition to provide “regulatory predictability” was vocalized during the listening sessions and reflected in written comments from the Stakeholders.4 Additionally, other input received during the listening sessions included “the importance of cooperative federalism…delegate decision-making to states and local authorities” as well as “the need to consider hydrologic diversity…, such as wetlands in the southeast, prairie potholes in the Midwest, ephemeral washes in the arid West, and permafrost in Alaska.”5
With these listening sessions completed, once the agencies finish reviewing the nearly 5,000 submitted written comments, their intention is “to issue a proposed rule in the coming months that will prioritize clear interpretation and implementation of the law, reducing red-tape, cutting overall permitting costs, and lowering the cost of doing business in communities across the country while protecting the nation’s waters from pollution.”6 The end goal for the agencies is to have the final rule issued prior to 2026.7
We will continue to monitor and regularly report on these agencies’ developments on the expeditious review and revision to the 2023 WOTUS Rule.
Footnotes
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA and Army Wrap Up Initial Listening Sessions, Move Toward Proposal to Revise 2023 Definition of WOTUS. June 17, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-army-wrap-initial-listening-sessions-move-toward-proposal-revise-2023
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Ibid.
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Ibid; and April 2025 submitted comments from: American Farm Bureau Federation, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0067; National Association of Home Builders, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0140; Association of General Contractors of America, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0168; National Mining Association, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0192; American Exploration & Mining Association, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0221; American Public Power Association, https://www.regulations.gov/comment/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093-0134, and others.
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Ibid.
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EPA Press Release.
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
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