EPA and the Army Corps Propose Cutting Clean Water Act Protection for More Streams and Wetlands, With the Biggest Losses in the West

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a supplemental proposed rule on September 4, 2026 that the agencies said would likely reduce the number of water bodies subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction, with the reduction falling most heavily on the West. It comes on top of an earlier proposed rule from the same agencies already expected to narrow the Act's reach. Waters removed from jurisdiction no longer require a federal permit or mitigation before development or discharge. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency is seeking a "durable" rule that "follows the law and ends burdensome regulatory uncertainty."

The definition of "waters of the United States" determines the practical scope of federal water pollution law, and it has swung between administrations and through the courts for two decades. Layering a supplemental proposal onto a pending one narrows the field further while the first is still unfinished, which compresses the record the public and reviewing courts will have to work from.

The supplemental notice is open for public comment; Zeldin said the feedback will inform the final rule. No final rule has issued and no court has ruled on it.