1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Wading Into the “Waters of the United States” December 28, 2018 The Trump Administration recently unveiled a proposed rule that would redefine the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act. The principa
2、l federal law restricting pollution of the nations surface waters, the Clean Water Act prohibits discharging certain pollutants into “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas” without a permit. But what constitutes “waters of the United States”or WOTUShas been the subject of p
3、olitical debate and litigation for more than four decades. The Trump Administrations proposed regulations are intended to provide clarity on what waters and wetlands the Clean Water Act governs, but observers expect legal challenges once the rule is finalized. While the regulations are in proposed f
4、orm, a string of court decisions related to previous WOTUS interpretations have created a fragmented legal landscape in which “waters of the United States” means different things in different parts of the nation. A Recent History of WOTUS For more than forty years, all three branches of government h
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