The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the development of regulations to roll back current policies addressing oversight of power plants and fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. The EPA will also work with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to develop regulations to implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sacket v. Environmental Protection Agency and clarify which waters are now subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.  

EPA plans to begin by obtaining input from stakeholders and undertake a rulemaking process to revise the 2023 definition of “waters of the United States.” The Administration also announced that it will work cooperatively with state partners, empowering them and local officials to protect treasured water bodies while accelerating economic opportunity, with decisions benefiting from local knowledge and expertise.  

Under Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled “waters” encompasses only those relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water forming streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes. 

PSATS and the National Associations of Towns and Townships participated in previous rulemakings, objected to the 2023 rule, and will participate in the new rulemaking process. Click here for the press release on WOTUS and here for additional press releases from EPA.