On November 17, 2025, the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers proposed a revised definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The Trump administration announced that the Proposed Rule would “provide greater regulatory certainty and increase Clean Water Act program predictability and consistency.” If you have any questions or would like any additional information on the Proposed Rule and WOTUS developments or the Clean Water Act, in general, and the impacts on your business, please contact Lisa Bruderly or Ethan Johnson. To read the full alert, click here.
Environmental Attorney Lisa Bruderly will present “The Newly Finalized WOTUS Definition and How it Will Affect Your Operations” to members of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) on Thursday, September 21, 2023. The U. S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. U.S. EPA decision, issued in May 2023, significantly narrowed the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and limited the scope of federally-regulated waters and wetlands. A new regulatory definition of WOTUS, based on Sackett, became final on September 8th. During this webinar, Lisa will discuss the Sackett decision, the new regulatory definition of WOTUS, and how these developments will impact the construction of new facilities and operation/maintenance of existing facilities. She will also explore the status of existing challenges to the prior definition of WOTUS and new challenges to the most recently-finalized definition. For more information, click here.
In her recent alert Sackett Decision Shrinks Federal Regulation of Wetlands, Lisa Bruderly discusses the highly-anticipated decision that significantly narrows the extent of wetlands within the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), and, therefore, within the jurisdiction of the federal Clean Water Act. Click here to view the full alert.
In her recent PIOGA Press article New Uncertainties About WOTUS Definition Lisa Bruderly discusses the developments on WOTUS and the Clean Water Act. To read the full article, click here.
In her article (Next) New definition of WOTUS in the Gas & Oil Association of West Virginia newsletter, Lisa Bruderly explains a new definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS ) issued by U. S. EPA and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Click here to view the full article.