• National Ground Water Association submitted formal comments to the EPA on April 23, 2025.
• The Association emphasized that groundwater should remain regulated by states.
• The Supreme Court’s Sackett decision reshaped the waters of the US (WOTUS) definition.
• NGWA previously warned the EPA to wait for the Sackett ruling before revising rules.

Tuesday, April 29, 2025 — The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) submitted official comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 23, 2025, urging the agency to leave groundwater management in the hands of individual states. The comments were made as part of the EPA’s ongoing review of the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a highly debated term that defines the scope of federal water regulation.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in March that the EPA AND the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would revise the WOTUS definition to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. According to Zeldin, the agencies’ goal is to ensure the revised definition “follows the law, reduces red tape, cuts overall permitting costs, and lowers the cost of doing business in communities across the country while protecting the nation’s navigable waters from pollution.”

In its April 23 comments, NGWA made its position clear: “NGWA believes that groundwater, including groundwater drained through subsurface drainage systems, should not be included in the definition of ‘waters of the United States’ and should continue to be regulated and managed by states. Clarification of federal and state jurisdiction is important to commerce and decisions involving economic and environmental tradeoffs.”

NGWA’s comments further addressed the need to exclude certain features from federal jurisdiction, including wetlands, wastewater recycling structures, surface expressions of groundwater, artificially irrigated areas, and stormwater control systems.

Background on the Sackett Case and WOTUS Definition Changes.

The Sackett case, decided in May 2023, marked a significant turning point for how WOTUS is interpreted. The case arose when Chantell and Michael Sackett sought to build a home in Idaho. After placing sand and gravel on their property, the EPA ordered them to stop, arguing the land contained federally protected wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The Sacketts contested the EPA’s authority, stating their property had no direct connection to navigable waters.

The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in the Sacketts’ favor, establishing that to qualify as WOTUS, water bodies must have a direct physical connection that presents them as a continuous waterway. The ruling significantly narrowed the federal government’s jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

Before the ruling, NGWA had urged the EPA in February 2022 to delay revising the WOTUS rule until the Supreme Court reached a decision in Sackett. Nevertheless, the EPA proceeded with publishing a new rule earlier that year. This latest review process, prompted by the Sackett decision, aims to bring the WOTUS definition into compliance with the Court’s interpretation.

The EPA has reevaluated the WOTUS definition several times over the past decade, with major revisions issued in 2015 and 2019.

NGWA’s full comments can be accessed directly through the organization’s website.

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