Navigable Waters Protection Rule has been Repealed – what does this mean?
The Navigable Waters Protection Rule has been repealed and the interpretation of “Waters of the United States” will now be consistent with the pre-2015 “Rapanos” Rule and regulatory regime.
This means:
This will have an impact on how the US Army Corps of Engineers determines which features are jurisdictional and regulated as wetlands.
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- Ephemeral streams (streams with flowing water only during, and for a short duration after, precipitation events in a typical year) will now be regulated.
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- Wetlands “adjacent” to other regulated Waters of the United States, including streams, will now generally be regulated.
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- Some ditches, including roadside ditches, that were previously unregulated may now be regulated.
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- There is still the potential that some isolated wetlands are non-jurisdictional – BME wetland specialists can help make this assessment.

BME Associates will provide you the expertise and up-to-date knowledge of these revised wetland regulations to help you maximize the use of your land and understand the implications of these revisions to your project and property. Click here for a summary of regulatory changes.
Additional information is available on EPA’s website at:
https://www.epa.gov/wotus/current-implementation-waters-united-states.