The Trump administration has put forward a major change to the Clean Water Act that would strip federal protections from millions of acres of wetlands nationwide, and Cincinnati environmental advocates say the move could threaten some of the region’s most sensitive waterways.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Nov. 17 proposed a new definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a key legal phrase that determines which rivers, streams and wetlands qualify for federal protection. The proposal would exclude wetlands that lack a “continuous surface connection” to protected waters, as well as seasonal or intermittently flowing streams.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the rule is meant to create “clear and practical rules of the road” and bring the agency into alignment with Sackett v. EPA, a 2023 Supreme Court decision that sharply limited the government’s authority to regulate wetlands. He argued that the proposal would balance federal and state oversight and give farmers, developers and property owners relief from what he described as overly broad federal rules.
But environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers warn the change could put between 38 and 70 million acres of wetlands at risk, according to analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Those wetlands filter pollution, store floodwater and protect drinking water systems across the country.
The Mill Creek Alliance, a Cincinnati-area watershed nonprofit, said the rollback could hit home quickly.
In a Dec. 2 statement, the group said the proposal “significantly weakens long-standing, science-based protections” for streams and wetlands across the Mill Creek watershed. The group pointed to areas in Butler County’s West Chester Township, where some of the last remaining natural wetlands could lose federal protection, as well as major Mill Creek tributaries such as Cooper Creek in Blue Ash and Evendale and Sharon Creek in Sharonville.
“This approach ignores decades of hydrological science and does not reflect how waterways actually function,” the organization wrote. “Wetlands and intermittent or seasonal streams play an essential ecological role even when they are not visibly or continuously connected.”
Losing federal safeguards could make it easier to develop flood-prone areas, the alliance warned, potentially undoing “30 years of hard-won progress” in a watershed that has a long history of flooding, industrial contamination and habitat loss.
Nationally, critics say the rule could degrade rivers, lakes and drinking water supplies at a time when climate change is intensifying flooding and drought. Former EPA water official Betsy Southerland called the proposal “one of the most significant setbacks to clean water protections in over half a century.”
Republicans in Congress praised the proposal. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves said the rule is a “victory for common sense” that will lessen regulatory burdens on farmers, builders and property owners.
The proposed rule is open for a 45-day public comment period that closes on Jan. 5.
Mill Creek Alliance said it plans to join regional and national partners in pushing the agency to withdraw the proposal.
“Our watershed — and the people, wildlife and businesses that rely on clean, healthy water— deserve nothing less,” the group wrote.