Navigable Waters Protection Rule
The final "Revised Definition of 'Waters of the United States'" rule was published in the Federal Register on January 18, 2023, and took effect on March 20, 2023. On August 29, 2023, the agencies issued a final rule amending the Code of Federal Regulations to conform the January 2023 Rule’s definition of “waters of the United States” to the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. The conforming rule amends the provisions of the agencies’ definition of “waters of the United States” in the January 2023 Rule that are invalid under the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act in the Sackett decision. The conforming rule, “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’; Conforming,” became effective on September 8, 2023 upon publication in the Federal Register. Please visit the Rule Status page for additional information about the status of the January 2023 Rule, as amended, and litigation. Learn more about current implementation of the definition of "waters of the United States."
The following documents are associated with the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (2020 NWPR), which was vacated by two district courts and has been replaced in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by the January 2023 Rule, as amended by the conforming rule. The 2020 NWPR is not in effect and the materials below are provided for informational purposes.
Navigable Waters Protection Rule Materials
- Final Rule: The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of “Waters of the United States”
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Supporting Documents:
Navigable Waters Protection Rule Public Comment (concluded)
On December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army proposed a revised definition of “waters of the United States” that clarifies federal authority under the Clean Water Act. The proposed rule published in the Federal Register (FR) on February 14, 2019 and was open for a 60-day public comment period. The public comment period closed on April 15, 2019. Comments were posted to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0149 and can be found here .
In addition, the agencies established an administrative docket, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0480, to solicit pre-proposal recommendations for the Step 2 rulemaking to define “waters of the United States.” The docket closed on November 28, 2017. Written recommendations can be found here in the docket.