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EPARulemakingEPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322

Updated Definition of Waters of the United States

RIN
2040-AG44
Last modified
Jun 30, 2026
Comment window
closed 204d ago
League of Women Voters filings
9

Activity

League of Women Voters filed 9 comments on this docket between Dec 30, 2025 and Jan 15, 2026. 271 other organizations filed here. The comment window closed 204d ago.

What League of Women Voters filed (9)

Jan 15, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters of Illinois· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-3367

Wetlands protection is essential to the health and vitality of our country. Becky Simon, President, League of Women Voters of Illinois

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Jan 14, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-1650

ALL of our wetlands, no exceptions need to be protected vigilantly. Thank you

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Jan 14, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-1976

Please, EPA, continue to support and oversee our wetlands to keep them free of contamination and abuse. They are an asset to our environment for a healthy planet.

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Jan 14, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters - Beloit· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-2067

Lee Zeldin, Administrator US Environmental Protection Agency Dear Administrator Zeldin: I am the Action Chair for LWV-Beloit, (Wisconsin) and our League is a member of the Upper Mississippi River Region ILO League of Women Voters. We are hereby signing in on their comment they submitted December 29, 2025. We have about 50 members in our local league. On behalf of our members, we urge you to reconsider the proposed narrow definition of WOTUS for the interpretation of waters and wetlands under the CWA and expand protections to preserve more of these precious resources. The continuous surface connection standard ignores the scientific reality of how water moves and that even seemingly isolated wetlands provide critical ecological functions. Rather than promulgate a new rule, Congress could amend the CWA and provide a statutory definition of WOTUS that explicitly includes wetlands and streams based on their physical, chemical, and biological connection to navigable waters, regardless of continuous surface connection. Secondly, legislation could clarify that EPA and ACE have discretion to use the best available science, including connectivity of waters that are not permanent, when specifying jurisdiction, and at the same time recognize state authority over land and water resources. We live on the border with Illinois. The Rock River cuts right through Beloit. The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. We have nearby wetlands off this river, which would clearly come under WOTUS, but there are so many ephemeral streams which dry up during the hot summers but make it nearly impossible to walk around the "lake" at the Nygren Wetland Preserve in the spring. The Nygren is right on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois. It is ridiculous to think that these streams – because they are dry some of the time – are not worthy of protection! Since Illinois has much less state protection of its waters, we must rely on the current federal protection afforded by the Clean Water Act. Please consider ephemeral streams as part of the federal protection. And obviously there is a connection in the groundwater. If someone pollutes land near a body of water, it is only a matter of time before that polluted matter reaches – and affects – the bigger body of water and wells. That is why we are worried about chemical spills and allowing pipelines. Beloit has many farmlands around it with many of these have Kelly Creek and/or Turtle Creek running through their lands, and some of us have kayaked down Turtle Creek and have noticed the agricultural runoff going into the creek. With the new definition of WOTUS, we are concerned that this chemical and biological pollution will not be covered anymore. And Kelly Creek is often dry, so WOTUS will no longer cover it. This is very concerning. Please reconsider this proposed narrow definition. We cannot afford to go back to the times before the Clean Water Act when rivers like the Cuyahoga could catch fire, or people upriver could dump anything on their land that drains into groundwater with impunity.

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Jan 14, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters - Beloit· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-2385

Lee Zeldin, Administrator US Environmental Protection Agency Dear Administrator Zeldin: I am the Action Chair for LWV-Beloit, (Wisconsin) and our League is a member of the Upper Mississippi River Region ILO League of Women Voters. We are hereby signing in on their comment they submitted December 29, 2025. We have about 50 members in our local league. On behalf of our members, we urge you to reconsider the proposed narrow definition of WOTUS for the interpretation of waters and wetlands under the CWA and expand protections to preserve more of these precious resources. The continuous surface connection standard ignores the scientific reality of how water moves and that even seemingly isolated wetlands provide critical ecological functions. Rather than promulgate a new rule, Congress could amend the CWA and provide a statutory definition of WOTUS that explicitly includes wetlands and streams based on their physical, chemical, and biological connection to navigable waters, regardless of continuous surface connection. Secondly, legislation could clarify that EPA and ACE have discretion to use the best available science, including connectivity of waters that are not permanent, when specifying jurisdiction, and at the same time recognize state authority over land and water resources. We live on the border with Illinois. The Rock River cuts right through Beloit. The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. We have nearby wetlands off this river, which would clearly come under WOTUS, but there are so many ephemeral streams which dry up during the hot summers but make it nearly impossible to walk around the "lake" at the Nygren Wetland Preserve in the spring. The Nygren is right on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois. It is ridiculous to think that these streams – because they are dry some of the time – are not worthy of protection! Since Illinois has much less state protection of its waters, we must rely on the current federal protection afforded by the Clean Water Act. Please consider ephemeral streams as part of the federal protection. And obviously there is a connection in the groundwater. If someone pollutes land near a body of water, it is only a matter of time before that polluted matter reaches – and affects – the bigger body of water and wells. That is why we are worried about chemical spills and allowing pipelines. Beloit has many farmlands around it with many of these have Kelly Creek and/or Turtle Creek running through their lands, and some of us have kayaked down Turtle Creek and have noticed the agricultural runoff going into the creek. With the new definition of WOTUS, we are concerned that this chemical and biological pollution will not be covered anymore. And Kelly Creek is often dry, so WOTUS will no longer cover it. This is very concerning. Please reconsider this proposed narrow definition. We cannot afford to go back to the times before the Clean Water Act when rivers like the Cuyahoga could catch fire, or people upriver could dump anything on their land that drains into groundwater with impunity.

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Jan 5, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters - Wilmette (LWV-W)· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0429

See attached file(s) Attached are comments from the League of Women Voters - Wilmette (Illinois)

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Jan 5, 2026· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters (LWV) of Palos Orland Area· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0393

Lee Zeldin, AdministratorJanuary 4, 2026 US Environmental Protection Agency EPA Docket Center Water Docket Mail code 2822IT 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20460 Dear Administrator Zeldin: The League of Women Voters of Palos Orland in Illinois joins our fellow Leagues in opposing the rule change to the Clean Waters Act which would narrow the definition of Waters of the US. The League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region (LWV UMRR) represents more than sixty local Leagues throughout the five states of the Upper Mississippi Basin – Minnesota (MN), Wisconsin (WI), Iowa (IA), Illinois (IL), and Missouri (MO). We work through education and advocacy to ensure sound policies that protect water quality and quantity in the Mississippi River Basin. The proposed narrower definition for Waters of the US will have a significant impact on water quality in the Upper Mississippi. This letter is to provide comments on the proposed 2025 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WOTUS rule. One of the main purposes of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters". This involves setting water quality standards and regulating the discharge of pollutants into the U.S. waters. While the proposed re-definition of WOTUS aims to streamline regulations, its potential impact on the future of freshwater resources in the Upper Mississippi River region and across the United States remains a serious concern. LWV UMRR testified at the listening session dated May 29, 2025, in Utah, providing information on the role and significance of EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) in safeguarding US Waters, the strong public support for clean water protections, and the need for stronger wetlands protections. Please refer to this previous testimony, which continues to stand and is a part of the comments on the proposed 2025 EPA WOTUS rule. On behalf of our members, we urge you to reconsider the proposed narrow definition of WOTUS for the interpretation of waters and wetlands under the CWA and expand protections to preserve more of these precious resources. The continuous surface connection standard ignores the scientific reality of how water moves and that even seemingly isolated wetlands provide critical ecological functions. As Dr. Betsy Southerland, former Director of Science and Technology at the US EPA Office of Water, states, "The role of headwaters, tributaries and wetlands, even without continuous surface connection, play a critical role in the aquatic system" (EPN, 2025). We recommend reviewing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2024 report to Congress and the alternatives provided in our comments for further strategies to strengthen waters and wetland conservation and regulation. Victoria L Cerinich, Co-President LWV of Palos Orland Area

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Dec 30, 2025· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region (LWV UMRR) et al.· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0335

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

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Dec 30, 2025· Comment submitted by League of Women Voters of the United States (LVWUS)· EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0311

Please find attached comments from the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS).

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Abstract

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Army are undertaking a rulemaking to revise the regulations defining the scope of waters federally covered under the Clean Water Act in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, 598 U.S. 651 (2023). With this proposed rule, the agencies intend to provide greater regulatory certainty and increase Clean Water Act program predictability and consistency by clarifying the definition of “waters of the United States.” Related Dockets: EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093; EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0602; EPA-HQ-OW-2023-0346

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Co-filers (271)

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