Waters of the United States Reconsidered: Listening Sessions

Listening Sessions & Public Input: U.S. EPA & U.S. Army Corps for “Waters of the United States”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in a press release on June 17, 2025, announced the completion of the initial listening sessions held by the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to gain input from the general public and stakeholders on the decision to review the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). U.S. EPA and USACE (Agencies) have been granted authority via the Clean Water Act (CWA) to define WOTUS in U.S. regulations because the CWA does not provide a definition for WOTUS. The CWA instead provides approved jurisdictional determinations and delegates authority to the Agencies to define WOTUS in regulations. See our previous blog on the March 12, 2025 press release on U.S. EPA’s decision to reconsider WOTUS.

Written Recommendations

As part of the original press release in March 2025, the Agencies provided information on how to provide feedback on the definition of WOTUS as part of a 30-day recommendation public docket, and at least six listening sessions. The submitted written recommendations are now available to the public under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0093. Feedback received on reconsidering the definition of WOTUS has varied amongst those responses received as part of the written recommendations, with over 4,000 comments submitted thus far.

Public Listening Sessions

In late April through May 2025, the Agencies held listening sessions for states, tribes, industry and agricultural stakeholders, environmental and conservation stakeholders, local governments, the public, and small business stakeholders. These listening sessions were both web-based and in-person conferences for the public or organizations to provide verbal recommendations during these sessions.

The listening sessions schedule of past sessions is posted on U.S. EPA’s Public Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement Activities (Outreach) page. Additionally, those listening sessions were recorded and will be posted to the Outreach page, as was done previously for the 2023 Sackett ruling, once available.

Next Steps

Following feedback from the listening sessions and written recommendations, U.S. EPA and USACE intends to propose an updated rule to more clearly define the definition of WOTUS with the intent to reduce costs and reduce confusion over the definition of WOTUS within the next few months. ALL4 will be following these updates and will provide updates as necessary. Public comment will be made available on the proposed rule, with the intent of finalizing the final rule for the definition of WOTUS by the end of 2025.

If you have any questions or would like assistance in evaluating how your individual permits may be impacted regarding the reconsideration of the WOTUS under the CWA, please reach out to me at cnagel@all4inc.com. ALL4 will continue to track updates to additional guidance or rulemaking regarding the definition of WOTUS, as the determinations may impact future permitting decisions with regard to wetlands as part of WOTUS.