2017–2020

Trump Administration

When President Trump came into office, one of his first Executive Orders was to rescind the Obama regulation and direct the EPA and the USACE to develop a new WOTUS definition. In response, the agencies worked to revise the definition of WOTUS in a way that was both easily understood by permittees on the ground and legally defensible. After extensive public comment periods and stakeholder input, the agencies published and finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) in 2020.

The NWPR was a more streamlined rule that provided landowners, farmers, and small businesses the clarity they need to operate with confidence and comply with the CWA. It included four clear categories of jurisdictional waters. The NWPR regulated the nation’s navigable waters and the core tributary systems that provide perennial or intermittent flow into them. The rule took effect nationwide and regulated stakeholders relied on and implemented the definitions and terms since mid-2020.