California Farm Bureau Submitted Comments on Updated Definition to "Waters of the United States"
Published Friday, October 16, 2026
On Oct. 9, the California Farm Bureau submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding proposed changes to the definition of “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, under the Clean Water Act. The agencies’ supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeks additional public input on approaches to defining federally regulated waters. The proposal builds on a November 2025 rulemaking and responds to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, which limited federal jurisdiction over certain wetlands.
Key proposed changes include narrowing the definition of “relatively permanent” waters, establishing a definition for “perennial” waters and further clarifying which wetlands fall under federal jurisdiction. Under the proposal, wetlands would generally be federally regulated only when they have a continuous surface water connection to another jurisdictional water, making it difficult to distinguish where the water ends and the wetland begins.
The agencies aim to establish a more durable definition that provides greater regulatory certainty while aligning federal oversight with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Staff contact: Kari Fisher, kfisher@cfbf.com.
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