Waters of the United States

Under Trump, the EPA cut millions of streams and wetlands out of safeguards guaranteed by the Clean Water Act, even though the agency’s own science advisors warned that pollution could spread downstream, harming larger bodies of water and the communities that rely on them.

Case Overview

In 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona said Trump’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule must be vacated because the rule contains serious errors and has the potential to cause significant harm to the nation’s waters if left in place while the Biden administration works on revisions to the rule.

The court ruling represented the culmination of a lawsuit brought by six federally recognized Indian tribes, who were represented by Earthjustice and sued the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers for passing a rule that eliminated Clean Water Act protections for thousands of waterbodies by redefining them as not “waters of the U.S.”

Thanks to this lawsuit and the Court’s ruling, the country returned to water protections that were in place for years starting in 1986, wiping the Trump Dirty Water Rule off the books. This outcome ensures Clean Water Act protections are in effect while the Biden administration works to develop a new rule.

The Dirty Water Rule was particularly damaging for waters throughout the West, Southwest and Great Lakes. The six tribes and their members have been disproportionately harmed by the rule as their livelihoods and culture were put at risk when the Dirty Water Rule eliminated protection for thousands of wetlands, headwater streams, and desert washes.

Earthjustice represented the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, Quinault Indian Nation, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Case Updates

Young girls play in a river. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act empowers states and tribes to assess the impacts of federal projects on rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands within their borders.
October 19, 2023 Press Release

Clean Water Act Bill is Big Step Forward, Needs to Eliminate Loophole to Truly Restore Protections

Earthjustice and its clients urge Congress to act swiftly

United States Supreme Court (front row L-R) Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan, (back row L-R) Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pose for their official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court has begun a new term after Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially added to the bench in September.
September 26, 2023 From the Experts

Here’s What to Expect From the Supreme Court This Term

Recent environmental rulings from the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority have revealed a dangerous agenda, but we still have strong legal tools to protect people and the planet.

Canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota.
August 29, 2023 Press Release

SCOTUS Ruling Spurs EPA to Reduce Protection for U.S. Waterways

More than half the country’s wetlands, along with streams and even lakes, could be left vulnerable to pollution