On June 9, 2021, EPA and the Department of the Army announced their intention to revise the definition of WOTUS to better protect our nation's water resources. This process includes two rulemakings: a foundational rule to restore longstanding protections, and an anticipated second rule that builds on that regulatory foundation. The Agencies intend to engage with state and tribal co-regulators and the public to inform these two rulemakings.

Public Meetings

On July 30, 2021, the Agencies announced a schedule for initial public meetings to hear from interested stakeholders on their perspectives on defining "waters of the United States" and how to implement that definition as the agencies pursue this process. The public meetings will be held as web conferences in August and September 2021.

Please note that the meetings have limited attendance capacity, but the meetings will be recorded and available for later review. 

Read the Notice of Public Meeting Dates and Solicitation of Pre-Proposal Feedback

Read the Press Release

Schedule and Registration

The schedule for the “waters of the United States” meetings is as follows:

• August 18, 2021 from 3-5 p.m. Eastern
• Please Note: This meeting has reached attendance capacity.
• August 23, 2021 from 1-3 p.m. Eastern
• Please Note: This meeting has reached attendance capacity.
• August 25, 2021 from 3-5 p.m. Eastern (for small entities) 
• Please Note: This meeting has reached attendance capacity.
• August 26, 2021 from 6-8 p.m. Eastern 
• Please Note: This meeting has reached attendance capacity.
• August 31, 2021 from 3-5 p.m. Eastern
• Please Note: This meeting has reached attendance capacity. 
• September 2, 2021 from 2-4 p.m. Eastern – Registration  

Persons or organizations wishing to provide verbal recommendations during the meetings will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. Due to the expected number of participants, individuals will be asked to limit their spoken presentation to three minutes. Once the speaking slots are filled, participants may be placed on a standby list to speak or continue to register to listen to the recommendations. Note that the August 25 session is for small entities.

Written Recommendations

The agencies are also accepting written recommendations from members of the public. The deadline to submit written recommendations is 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published. You may send written feedback identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0328 to Regulations.gov. The docket closes on September 3, 2021. 

Federalism and Tribal Consultation

For more information regarding federalism and tribal consultation, please contact CWAwotus@epa.gov. Additional information about tribal consultation may also be found at EPA's Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System website.

The agencies are also accepting written recommendations from members of the public. The deadline to submit written recommendations is 30 days after the Federal Register notice is published. You may send written feedback identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2021-0328 to Regulations.gov. The docket closes on September 3, 2021.