Idaho officials praise EPA announcement to clarify WOTUS

Even Mark Twain, the king of idioms, would have trouble understanding the phrases in the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) waters of the US (WOTUS) definition and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) interpretation. Years have been wasted in fruitlessly hoping the government agency would spill the beans on the regulatory definition of ‘WOTUS’, and its related terms of ‘navigable water,’ ‘surface connection, ’‘adjacent,’ and ‘significant nexus.’ Those citizens who have dealt with the EPA on any of these interpretations know to take the agency’s word as a grain of salt.    

In 2012, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote “the reach of the Clean Water Act is notoriously unclear,” and faulted Congress for “not defin[ing] what it meant by ‘the waters of the United States’,” as, he says, “the words themselves are hopelessly indeterminate” [Sackett v. EPA 2012]. The Sacketts are a North Idaho couple who endured a 15-year legal battle. Their first round at the Supreme Court in 2012 decided if the couple even had standing to bring the case against the EPA.

In 2023, the Supreme Court sided with the Sacketts, agreeing that building a home on a piece of property separated from Priest Lake by a row of homes and a dirt road should not be considered a WOTUS under the CWA. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling, brought clarity to many of the terms used in the Clean Water Act, but the EPA still needed to engage stakeholders in order to clarify interpretations for agency staff. A preliminary amended rule in September 2023 reflected the decision of the court but it circumvented much needed public commentary.

On March 24, 2025, the EPA, in combination with the Army Corps of Engineers, issued a notice in the Federal Register announcing listening sessions and requesting feedback. The announcement is related to the implementation of the definition of the “waters of the United States (WOTUS)” based on the 2023 SCOTUS opinion. The listening sessions are seeking feedback on the scope of the following terms and their associated features:

• “Relatively permanent” waters

• “Continuous Surface Connection"

• What it means to “abut” a jurisdictional water

• “Temporary interruptions in surface connection”

• Interpreting “jurisdictional ditches”

The Clean Water Act of 1972 created significant improvements in water quality in the United States, but the advancements were weaponized into a manipulative tool for environmental groups and biased bureaucrats to make law-abiding citizens abide by unlegislated ideologies. Environmental activists used the term ‘pollution’ to create fear and control communities, and these groups continue to oppose any clarification of the WOTUS definitions.

But the 2023 Sackett decision made it clear that citizens deserve well-defined laws, not flexible definitions allowing bureaucratic overreach. After decades of victimizing citizens through ambiguous rulemaking, this once in a blue moon clarification effort by regulators is receiving well-deserved applause. Lawmakers across the country are praising the EPA’s announcement, and Idaho’s leaders were no exception.  

• Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID): “The Trump Administration continues to deliver on promises to reduce the size and scope of the federal government in places where it does not belong--like momentary puddles and groundwater ditches. I thank Administrator Zeldin for his quick actions to revise WOTUS decisions within the law and under the Supreme Court’s clear ruling on navigable waters. It’s time to give water management policies back to state and local on-the-ground experts once and for all.” 

• Senator Jim Risch (R-ID): “Idaho’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners have been forced to comply with federal overreach for too long. Thank you President Trump and Administrator Zeldin for rolling back unreasonable WOTUS regulations.” 

• House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID-02): “The Biden administration created a regulatory nightmare by trying to expand federal authority over WOTUS. EPA Administrator Zeldin's announcement ensures that the government's role in WOTUS complies with the Supreme Court's Sackett decision, which reined in expansive overreach of executive power. From the Obama to the Biden administrations, I have long fought against the EPA weaponizing WOTUS. The Trump administration is committed to reducing regulatory burdens and providing certainty to farmers, ranchers, and landowners in Idaho and across the country, and that's a win!”

• Governor Brad Little (R-ID): “For too long, the federal government has weaponized WOTUS to stonewall farming, ranching & American industry. While D.C. bureaucrats have been dragging their feet on Sackett, President Trump is taking action in the first 100 days. A huge win for rural America!” 

•  Lieutenant Governor Scott Bedke (R-ID): “This is great news for farmers, businesses, and the Gem State. The bureaucratic blunders on WOTUS will soon be coming to an end, while cutting costs and protecting our nation’s waters.” 

Free markets rely on regulatory clarity. Vague definitions hinder a person’s ability to build a home, start a business, or continue a multi-generational operation. Providing regulatory clarity to the Clean Water Act is not about ending environmental protection, but about allowing citizens to make informed plans based on predictable rules, without the subjective threat of regulators enjoying the ambiguity of rules as muddy as the Mississippi River.