The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a rule November 17, 2025, to revise the definition of “waters of the United States,” limiting federal Clean Water Act protections for many wetlands and streams by aligning strictly with the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision.
Announced by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the proposal focuses protections on relatively permanent bodies of water and adjacent wetlands with a continuous surface connection, excluding isolated wetlands and intermittent or ephemeral streams. This change codifies the Sackett ruling, which rejected the “significant nexus” test used previously to include wetlands with ecological links to navigable waters.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation responded critically, stating the rule threatens regional water quality. Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek said, “EPA’s plan to further strip wetlands protections would deal a serious blow to Bay restoration. Wetlands, including those isolated from other waters, and streams that don’t flow continuously all year are critical to clean water in the Bay and its local rivers and streams. They also provide habitat and spawning grounds for fish, waterfowl, and wildlife important to our region’s seafood and outdoor recreation industries. And they’re invaluable for softening the blow of extreme weather on low-lying communities like Annapolis and Norfolk. Absent robust federal protections, the Bay states and D.C. must fill the gaps or risk losing wetlands and streams that help save the Bay to short-sighted and irresponsible development and destruction.”
The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans parts of six states and the District of Columbia, encompassing roughly 1.5 million acres of wetlands that filter pollutants, store carbon, buffer storm surges, and support habitat. The region includes thousands of isolated wetlands known as Delmarva bays and pocosins, common on the Delmarva Peninsula covering parts of Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, plus over 118,000 miles of intermittent or seasonal streams. Under the proposal, these features would lose automatic federal safeguards, requiring permits for dredging or filling only if they meet the stricter connection criteria.
State-level protections vary across the watershed. Maryland maintains its own nontidal wetlands program through the Department of the Environment, requiring permits for activities impacting these areas and offering mitigation options like wetland creation elsewhere. Virginia regulates isolated wetlands via the State Water Control Board, with similar permit processes tied to water quality standards. Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia also administer independent programs. However, Delaware and West Virginia depend primarily on federal rules, leaving features like Delmarva bays in Delaware vulnerable to development without additional state action.
The Sackett case originated from an Idaho property owners’ dispute, where the Court ruled 5-4 that Clean Water Act jurisdiction extends only to wetlands indistinguishable from traditional navigable waters via continuous surface connections, not merely ecological or hydrological influences. The Biden administration amended rules in 2023 to conform partially, but the new proposal goes further by removing remaining provisions critics argued exceeded the decision.
Zeldin described the rule as reducing regulatory burdens while protecting core waters, emphasizing cooperation with states. Property rights advocates, including the Pacific Legal Foundation that represented the Sacketts, praised it as aligning with the ruling. Environmental groups countered that it could expose millions of wetland acres nationwide to loss, with estimates from analyses like those by the Natural Resources Defense Council suggesting 38 to 70 million acres at risk under similar frameworks.
In Southern Maryland, wetlands along the Patuxent and Potomac rivers play key roles in filtering agricultural runoff and supporting blue crab and oyster populations central to local economies in St. Mary’s, Calvert, and Charles counties. The Chesapeake Bay Program, a federal-state partnership, relies on wetland conservation to meet pollution reduction goals under the 2014 Watershed Agreement, though progress toward 2025 targets has lagged. Proposed changes could complicate efforts by shifting more responsibility to state permitting, where resources for enforcement vary.
Public comment on the proposal opens upon Federal Register publication, typically 60 days, allowing input before finalization. The rule builds on shifts in WOTUS definitions across administrations, from expansions under Obama to contractions under the first Trump term, creating uncertainty for developers, farmers, and conservationists.
Delmarva bays, depression wetlands unique to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, hold water seasonally and support rare plants and amphibians. Pocosins, evergreen shrub bogs in southeastern Virginia, store vast carbon volumes. Loss of federal oversight might increase pressures from agriculture or development, though states could enact stronger measures.
The proposal reflects ongoing debates over federal versus state roles in environmental regulation, with the Clean Water Act of 1972 aiming to restore national waters but leaving implementation details contested.
