Press Release

November 17, 2025

EPA Proposed “Polluted Water Rule” will Severely Restrict Clean Water Act Protections in Great Lakes Region and Beyond

“The EPA is choosing to issue a path that will lead to more pollution in our water and leave communities more vulnerable to flooding.”

Today, the Trump administration’s EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a new proposed rule that will severely restrict Clean Water Act protections from many streams and wetlands that are essential to keeping waterways in the Midwest clean and prevent flooding.

Statement by Nancy Stoner, Senior Attorney

Environmental Law & Policy Center

“Today, the Trump EPA is giving polluters a free pass to dirty our waterways by rolling back protections for important sources of clean water that Americans need. Here in the Midwest, we rely on wetlands and tributaries to keep our Great Lakes and other waterways in the region clean and help prevent flooding.

“The Trump administration had a crystal-clear choice – clean water or polluted water. The EPA could protect the rivers, lakes, and wetlands that had not already been stripped from Clean Water Act protections by the Supreme Court in the Sackett v. EPA case or continue to tear apart one of the most popular and successful environmental laws in U.S. history. Unfortunately, the EPA is choosing to issue a path that will lead to more pollution in our water and leave communities more vulnerable to flooding.”