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EPA scales back federal wetland protections to comply with Supreme Court order

Change eliminates federal permitting requirements for development on many wetlands, intermittent streams

Federal rules codifying which waterways are afforded Clean Water Act protections under the “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule have been changed once more, continuing a back-and-forth regulatory saga shaped by presidential administration changes and court rulings going back at least a decade.

The federal agency that administers the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced Tuesday that it amended its WOTUS definition to comply with the Sackett v. EPA decision the U.S. Supreme Court issued in May.

The lawsuit focused on whether a couple who owned property in...