The Trump administration is still regulating federally protected wetlands, despite recent remarks from a senior official about the Army Corps of Engineers moving away from the practice.
Lee Forsgren, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, said during a conference last month that the administration was “getting out of the business of regulating wetlands.” Reported by Bloomberg Law and other outlets, the comment was later confirmed by the agency.
Yet Army Corps officials now say that the statement was not meant as a total abdication of oversight over wetlands. Rather, it reflects the agency’s limited authority under the Clean Water Act, the top political appointee for the Army Corps said in a brief interview last week.
“The point [Forsgren] was making is that the law, the Clean Water Act of 1972, gives us responsibility relating to permitting activities in the waters of the United States, and waters of the United States does not necessarily include all wetlands,” said Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works.
