The Trump Administration’s proposed rule defining “Waters of the United States” under the federal Clean Water Act was published last week in the Federal Register. The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft of the proposed rule in December, but its official publication was delayed by the federal government shutdown. The agencies are seeking public comments on the proposed rule by April 15.
 
As a reminder, in California and 22 other states, the 2015 WOTUS rule currently applies, and will do so until a new rule is finalized and goes into effect. Yesterday’s proposed rule includes clarifications, and its preamble has explanatory language that would reduce, but not eliminate, the risk that several types of public infrastructure would be classified as WOTUS and fall under CWA jurisdiction. The proposal also seeks comment on an array of potential changes that could be made in the final rule. Some of those changes would reduce the risk of public infrastructure falling under CWA jurisdiction, but others could increase that risk.

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