On Nov. 17, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Adam Telle and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a proposed rule aiming to streamline the federal permitting process under the Clean Water Act by clarifying the definition of “waters of the United States.”

The proposed rule would amend the definition of WOTUS, which is currently defined by the Biden administration’s January 2023 final rule and August 2023 amendment. ABC criticized the 2023 rulemaking, which contributed to continued regulatory uncertainty and unnecessary delays for critical infrastructure projects.

The November 2025 proposed rule would ensure USACE and EPA are in full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which placed clear boundaries on the scope of the federal government’s authority while maintaining important environmental protections for America’s waterways.

ABC issued a statement regarding the proposed rule, supporting the Trump administration’s commitment to clearly defining WOTUS while protecting water quality.

Resources on the proposed rule are available on EPA’s website. Specifically, the proposed rule would:

• Define “continuous surface connection” to mean a water having surface water during the region’s wet season and touching a jurisdictional water
• Define “relatively permanent” to mean standing/continuously flowing bodies of water that stand/flow year-round or at least during the wet season
• Define “tributary” to mean waters with relatively permanent flow connected to downstream traditional navigable waters
• Clarifying exclusions for ditches, prior converted cropland and waste treatment systems
• Adding an exclusion for groundwater

ABC will provide comments on the proposed rule, with comments due 45 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Previously, ABC provided recommendations to the EPA and USACE on WOTUS as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition and provided testimony at a listening session regarding the impacts of WOTUS on small businesses.