By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture

Fast facts

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The long road to a definition of waters of the United States isn’t at an end, says Brigit Rollins, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers are seeking additional public comments on proposed changes to the regulatory definition of the waters of the United States, or WOTUS, section of the Clean Water Act.

EPA and the Corps of Engineers issued a supplemental proposal to seek additional comments on three definitions the two entities have updated from a November 2025 proposal.

“This is crucial because only those waters that are considered WOTUS fall under the statute’s permitting authority,” said Brigit Rollins, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center. “However, the term has proven difficult to define, and EPA has struggled to adopt a WOTUS definition that holds up to legal scrutiny.

“Specifically, EPA is requesting comment on whether the phrase ‘relatively permanent’ should be defined as perennial bodies of water that have ‘standing or continuously flowing water every day of the year’ except for an annual dry period that may not exceed 30 consecutive days,” Rollins said.

“The agencies are also looking for feedback on whether only those wetlands that have a ‘continuous surface water connection’ with a ‘relatively permanent’ water should receive WOTUS protection,” she said. “Under the supplemental proposal, wetlands would only have WOTUS status if the surface water connection was present year-round except for a period of temporary interruption not to exceed 30 days.”

“Should this proposal be finalized, it would be the narrowest definition of WOTUS that EPA has enforced since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972,” Rollins said.

The public comment on the proposal opened on Sept. 9 and will close on Oct. 9.

Members of the public may view the rule and instructions on how to submit a comment on the Federal Register’s website.

To read the full news article, click here.

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