WASHINGTON- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of the Army revised their final rule regarding the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to match a recent ruling from the Supreme Court. 

On May 25, the court ruled in favor of Chantell and Mike Sackett, who claimed the soggy portion of their property was not protected wetlands.

Since then, the agencies have worked to apply the ruling to state co-regulators, Tribes and partners around the country. 

“We’ve moved quickly to finalize amendments to the definition of ‘waters of the United States’ to provide a clear path forward that adheres to the Supreme Court’s ruling,” said Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator. “EPA will never waver from our responsibility to ensure clean water for all. Moving forward, we will do everything we can with our existing authorities and resources to help communities, states, and Tribes protect the clean water upon which we all depend.”

After the initial announcement in January, Republican governors called on the Biden administration to delay the implementation of the new rules until after the Supreme Court case. 

Following this latest news from the agency, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association shared its perspective on how the EPA will move forward with WOTUS.

“The entire cattle industry breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court curtailed the EPA’s overreach under the Clean Water Act,” said Mary-Thomas Hart, chief counsel for NCBA. “Today’s revised WOTUS definition is an important step toward bringing the EPA more in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling. NCBA looks forward to working with the agency to protect farmers and ranchers from burdensome regulations and provide them with lasting certainty on WOTUS. NCBA was proud to lead the fight against burdensome WOTUS rules from Congress to the courts. We will continue analyzing this latest development to ensure that cattle producers are protected.”