The US Army Corps of Engineers and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will rewrite, yet again, the “Waters of the United States” rule. This comes after a review ordered by President Biden found that the law, revised under the Trump administration, has resulted in fewer bodies of water being protected.
The rule was originally written under the Obama administration to better clarify which bodies of water should be protected under the U.S. Clean Water Act. Under Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, seasonal water bodies and ephemeral streams could be classified as needing federal protection. Contractor groups were opposed to WOTUS because having more water bodies under federal jurisdiction could impact construction.