Oct 9, 2026 Waters Advocacy Coalition Comments on U.S. EPA and ACOE Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States”
IPAA as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (“WAC”) submits the following comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“SNPRM”) regarding the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act (“CWA” or the “Act”), Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States.”1 The SNPRM supplements the Agencies’ November 20, 2025, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States,”2 (hereinafter “NPRM”) by proposing additional options for defining “continuous surface connection” and “relatively permanent.”
WAC represents a diverse cross-section of the nation’s business community, including construction, transportation, real estate, mining, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, energy, recreational, wildlife conservation, and public health and safety sectors—all of which are vital to a thriving national economy and provide much-needed American jobs.4 WAC members are committed to both building modern, resilient infrastructure and protecting and restoring America’s wetlands and waters.
WAC appreciates the Agencies’ efforts to improve regulatory predictability and consistency by providing an additional option for clarifying the scope of WOTUS. As WAC noted in its comments on the NPRM, when Congress enacted the CWA, it exercised its commerce power over navigation and specifically granted the Agencies the power to regulate “navigable waters,” which the CWA defines as “waters of the United States.”
