On Nov. 17, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army announced the signing of a proposed rule to revise the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. WOTUS defines whether or not a waterbody or wetland is under Federal jurisdiction and protected under the Clean Water Act.

This proposal implements the Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA.

In developing the proposed rule, EPA and the Army reviewed and considered the extensive feedback and recommendations the agencies received from states, tribes, local governments and stakeholders throughout consultations and the pre-proposal recommendations docket and listening sessions. 

The agencies are proposing revisions to the amended 2023 definition of WOTUS to fully implement the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA.

Specifically, the agencies are proposing to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” under paragraph (a) by:

• Deleting the interstate waters category 
• Deleting “intrastate” from the paragraph (a)(5) category for lakes and ponds. 

In addition, the agencies are proposing to revise or add the following exclusions: 

• Revise the (b)(1) waste treatment system exclusion, 
• Revise the (b)(2) prior converted cropland exclusion, 
• Revise the (b)(3) ditch exclusion; and
• Add the (b)(9) groundwater exclusion. 

The agencies are also proposing to add definitions in paragraph (c) of their regulations for: 

• “continuous surface connection,” 
• “ditch,” 
• “prior converted cropland,” 
• “relatively permanent,” 
• “tributary,” 
• and “waste treatment system.” 

These proposed revisions would limit those waters found to be jurisdictional compared to the Amended 2023 Rule, respecting state and tribal authority over their own land and water resources. 

The agencies are not proposing to change the definition of “wetlands.” They are, however, proposing to add a definition of “continuous surface connection” which is used to identify which wetlands are “adjacent” and therefore jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act.

The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 45 days.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is announcing its support for the new proposed WOTUS rule, which comes after decades of advocacy by NCBA and its state affiliate partners to remove confusing and burdensome regulations on cattle farmers and ranchers.

"Waters of the US has been a longstanding and frustrating issue for family farmers and ranchers. Every few years, the definition of a ‘water of the US’ has changed. Often, this meant that small water features like prairie potholes or dry ditches suddenly fell under federal regulation,” said NCBA President and Nebraska cattleman Buck Wehrbein. “NCBA has spent years fighting to protect cattle producers from excessive red tape.

"We went to the EPA, advocated on Capitol Hill, and even took this issue all the way up to the Supreme Court to protect our members from federal overreach. We appreciate the EPA finally fixing previous WOTUS rules and supporting America’s family farmers and ranchers."

The revised WOTUS rule ensures that only large bodies of water and their main tributaries fall under federal jurisdiction. Past WOTUS rules issued under the Obama and Biden administrations placed small, isolated water features under federal regulation. Prairie potholes, playa lakes, and even ditches that only carried water after large storms became regulated as if they were a large lake, river or ocean.

In addition to congressional advocacy and technical comments to the EPA, NCBA also stood up for cattle producers’ rights in court. The association filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court case Sackett v. EPA and received a major victory in 2023 that rolled back previous overreaching WOTUS rules.

NCBA also initiated numerous lawsuits under the Obama and Biden administrations to prevent what it finds to be harmful rules from impacting cattle producers. Since the Trump administration entered office at the start of 2025, NCBA has been working with newly appointed EPA officials to craft a new WOTUS rule that ends the uncertainty caused by previous regulations.

“Today's WOTUS announcement finally acknowledges that the federal government should work to protect lakes, rivers and oceans, rather than regulating ditches and ponds on family farms and ranches,” said NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart. “NCBA is pleased to see the EPA stand up for cattle producers, and we look forward to providing input on this proposed rule.”

NCBA and its state affiliate partners will submit comments to the agency on the rule, which will be considered before the rule is finalized.

Sources: EPA; NCBA