On January 5, Susan Bodine submitted comments on U.S. EPA’s and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed Updated Definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which is intended to conform the rule to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA. The comments were submitted in response to the agencies’ November 20, 2025, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (90 FR 52,498).

In her submission, Bodine urges the EPA and the Corps to clearly distinguish between provisions that directly implement Sackett and those where the agencies are engaging in gap-filling, and to place the burden of proof for WOTUS jurisdiction squarely on the government. Her specific recommendations urge the agencies to:

• Clarify the baseline for regulatory impact analysis
• Clarify the basis for the proposed regulatory provisions
• Clarify the preamble language on implementation
• Codify a definition of “waters”
• Clarify the definition of adjacent wetlands
• Provide bright lines for excluding land and waters from jurisdiction

 
You can view or download the full submission documents by clicking HERE