Karst, small streams and many Tennessee wetlands will continue unprotected following latest ‘WOTUS’ lawsuit

Tennessee waterways, once again, face an uncertain future. 

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s new “Waters of the United States” rule, once again narrowing the definition of what waters are required to have regulatory protection. 

This fight started in 1972, when Congress passed the Clean Water Act to establish a basic structure for regulating water quality. The act regulates pollution from factories and farms, while also addressing the impact of construction projects that alter water features.

The problem is that not all water is protected under the Clean Water Act. Farmers, companies and developers have been able to pollute many types of wetlands, little streams and karst groundwater, even if these smaller bodies of water connect to larger bodies of water like rivers and major lakes. 

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a new rule in March to define “Waters of the U.S.,” known as WOTUS, to establish protections for some wetlands, streams and tributaries as determined by the agencies on a case-by-case basis. Wetlands, for example, would have protections if they had “relatively permanent” connections to larger waterways or “significant” ecological “nexus” to protected tributaries, according to the rule. 

Congress passed a resolution last week that would roll back this rule, but President Joe Biden signed his second-ever veto on the resolution.

I just vetoed a bill that attempted to block our Administration from protecting our nation's waterways – a resource millions of Americans depend on – from destruction and pollution.

Let me be clear: Every American has a right to clean water.

This veto protects that right. pic.twitter.com/ozfOVu5HEq

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 6, 2023

Texas and Idaho obtained an injunction in March and are now subject to 1986 regulations. 

With the latest injunction, Tennessee and 23 others are now also subject to pre-2015 regulations, which EPA did not define in response to a question from WPLN News.  

“In light of the preliminary injunctions, the agencies are interpreting ‘waters of the United States’ consistent with the pre-2015 regulatory regime in 26 States until further notice,” EPA said in an emailed statement. 

EPA said it will review the latest decision, while reiterating that the agency, along with the U.S. Department of Defense, believe the rule is informed by the Clean Water Act, the scientific record, relevant Supreme Court case law and decades of technical experience.