Jan 5, 2026 Comments in Response to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers’ Proposed Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States”
Dear Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers:
This letter provides comments from the American Petroleum Institute (“API”), the Independent Petroleum Association of America (“IPAA”), the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming (“PAW”), and the Western States’ Petroleum Association (“WSPA”) in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) and the Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Army Corps”) (collectively “the Agencies’”) proposed revisions (“Proposed Revisions”) to the definition of “Waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”).
We appreciate the Agencies’ commitment to fully incorporating the jurisdictional limits Congress imposed through the Clean Water Act (“CWA” or “the Act”) and the broad interpretive guideposts provided by the United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court” or “the Court”). We believe that our additional clarifying changes further goals we share with the government — developing an interpretation of WOTUS that is clear, protective of the environment and human health, administrable, and legally sound. …
