The Biden administration has finalized a rule to increase protection for small streams, wetlands and other waterways across the country, reversing a Trump-era regulation that had been thrown out by federal courts over fear of pollution.
The policy adds definitions to what constitutes “waters of the United States” that are protected by the 1970 Clean Water Act, reestablishing regulations set under the Obama administration that were rolled back by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans warned that the new rule, which was signed off by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week, would be overreaching for private property owners because federal protection could apply to minor waterways such as gullies, creeks and ravines.