Administrative efforts are underway to roll back protections for our streams and wetlands. A new proposed rule revises the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to exclude many wetlands and headwater streams that are critical to fisheries, wildlife and water quality.
In 2015, the EPA finalized a WOTUS rule that established protection under the Clean Water Act on real-world connections between headwater streams, wetlands and navigable water. The 2015 rule was based on scientific information after a multi-year analysis. The new WOTUS rule will eliminate protection for ephemeral streams and wetlands that do not have a direct surface connection to “navigable” water, and it lacks any scientific foundation.