"Biden's Rule Threatens Protection of Majority of U.S. Wetlands"

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised a key rule to comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling, potentially removing federal protections from up to 63% of the nation's wetlands. The EPA and the Department of the Army changed the definition of "waters of the United States" to align with the court's decision, which weakened the agencies' power to regulate waterways. As a result, numerous types of waters, including wetlands and ephemeral streams, will no longer be under federal protection. The ruling in Sackett v. EPA determined that wetlands are protected only if they have a continuous surface connection to bodies of water considered "waters of the United States." The EPA stated that the amendments made are limited and only address the parts of the previous rule that are invalid under the court's decision.