E.P.A. Rule Would Drastically Curb Protections for Wetlands

Source: New York Times

Nov. 17, 2025, 2:21 p.m. ET


The Trump administration proposed on Monday to significantly limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit pollution in wetlands, rivers and other bodies of water across the country. The proposed rule could strip federal protections from millions of acres of wetlands and streams, potentially threatening sources of clean drinking water for millions of Americans. It was a victory for a range of business interests that have lobbied to scale back the Clean Water Act of 1972, including farmers, home builders, real estate developers, oil drillers and petrochemical manufacturers.

“I know that across the country, news of today’s proposal is going to be met with a lot of relief from farmers, ranchers, other landowners and governments,” said Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, during an event at the agency’s headquarters in Washington featuring Republican members of Congress and industry executives. Under the Clean Water Act, companies and individuals must obtain a permit from the E.P.A. before releasing pollutants into the nation’s waterways. They must receive a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before discharging any dredged or fill material, such as sand, silt or construction debris.

A 2023 Supreme Court decision had set the stage for the E.P.A.’s action by curtailing the agency’s power to police millions of acres of wetlands. In the majority opinion in Sackett v. E.P.A., Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote that the Clean Water Act allowed the agency to regulate only wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to a “relatively permanent” body of water. But Justice Alito did not explicitly define a “relatively permanent” body of water.

Now, the Trump administration is describing it as a body of water that flows either year-round or during the “wet season.” The new definition would exclude wetlands that abut or touch many intermittent streams, which do not flow during dry periods. It also could exclude ephemeral streams, which sit dry for much of the year and fill up only after rainfall or snowmelt.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/climate/epa-curbs-protections-for-wetlands.html