The federal government will scale back oversight of waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act, a step that the Trump administration said will benefit farmers and landowners and ensure compliance with a Supreme Court ruling.
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers will issue a new rule redefining what counts as a “water of the U.S.” under the 1972 law and do away with the Biden administration’s stance on the issue.
Hours after the announcement, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin promised on X that Wednesday would be the “most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history.”
Industry groups have complained that the Biden administration regulated too many isolated streams and wetlands and flouted the high court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA. Under the Trump administration, the concerns of landowners, private industry and farmers will be heard, Zeldin said at an event Wednesday.
