|
A team of scientist's from LWV Upper Mississippi River Region reviewed the draft changes to the definition of Waters of the US, and has drafted comments that were submitted to LWV US for review. LWV US's approval was necessary before the comments can be submitted because it's a federal issue. The approval was granted on December 17, 2025, and the letter was submitted to US EPA on January 4, 2026. This is the comment letter in its entirety. 
The comments are based on the LWV position on Environmental Protection and Pollution Control (Impact on Issues 2024-26, page 110.  Summary of the Comment Letter:
What is the proposed 2025 USEPA WOTUS Rule?
What’s included in the proposed EPA 2025 WOTUS Rule? Revisions to key definitions:
2 .Failure to Rely on the Significance of Connectivity and Ecosystem Function
3, Alternatives Regarding the Proposed 2025 WOTUS Rule
On November 15, the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rules clarifying the definition of Waters of the United States. These proposed rules are based on the altered definition of the Clean Water Act in the Sackett decision. US EPA states that the proposed rule will "play a key role in EPA's Powering the Great American Comeback initiative"... From the US EPA WOTUS webpage: Updated Definition of Waters of the United States On November 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (“the agencies”) announced the signing of a proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States.” This proposal implements the Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA. The proposed rule will play a key role in EPA’s Powering the Great American Comeback initiative by protecting water resources, strengthening cooperative federalism, and supporting American industry, energy producers, the technology sector, farmers, ranchers, developers, businesses, and landowners. 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. Here is the proposed rule Proposed Rule: Updated Definition of "Waters of the United States" (Pre-publication Version) (pdf) (1.12 MB)
The League of Women Voters supported the Clean Water Act's passage 50+ years ago - the following excerpt is from the LWV US Impact on Issues, page 108:  LWV UMRR has covered the Sackett decision in meetings and blog posts:
The Clean Water Act implementation after Sackett What does the Sackett decision mean for our waters Healthy Communities - our water and watersheds Sackett vs EPA Supreme Court decision limits extent of clean water act jurisdiction And from the Mississippi River Ag and Water Desk: Down the Drain - Wetlands in the Mississippi Basin
Our guest speaker was Rob Lee, staff attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates (bio below). Rob provided a brief history of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prior to 2015 regulations defining Water of the US (WOTUS), and the 2020 Navigable Water Protection Rule. He followed this up discussing the May 2023 Supreme Court Ruling and the now revised regulations just issued by US EPA and the Corps of Engineers with a final revised definition of Waters of the US. Following Rob's remarks, LWV UMRR's Gretchen Sabel presented information on the status of wetland regulation in the UMRR states based on a 2022 analysis by the Environmental Law Institute, followed by a look at LWV positions that relate to actions supporting strong implementation of the CWA. The program wrapped up with a discussion period led by LWV UMRR Chair Mary Ellen Miller.  Priest Lake in Idaho; photo NBC News You'll find more information on the Sackett decision here and here on the LWV UMRR blog. Here's a link to an excelllent blog article by Jared Mott of the Izaak Walton League that also provides background.  |
|||||||
| LWV Upper Mississippi River Region | UMRR blog |
RSS Feed