IEC Responds to Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rulemaking

Redefining Waters of the United States Poses Grave Impacts to Iowa Wetlands and Waterways 

DES MOINES – On April 23, The Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) commented on the solicitation for stakeholder feedback on “WOTUS Notice: The Final Response to SCOTUS; Establishment of a Public Docket” from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The new rulemaking would narrow the scope of WOTUS to comply with the Sackett decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The Sackett ruling – a case brought by Idaho farmers in 2023 – questioned if the Clean Water Act’s definition of “navigable waters” applied to wetlands and resulted in reduced protections for wetlands and adjacent tributaries. The WOTUS definition the EPA adheres to determines the scope of water quality, water supply, and ecosystem protections. IEC’s comments request that the EPA adopt a definition that protects the maximum extent of waters as allowed by Sackett. 

IEC argues that a rule narrowly interpreting the Waters of the United States would worsen environmental health and recreation assets in Iowa, with most significant impact on wetlands and ditches. Based on a recent analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Iowa stands to lose protection for between 41 percent and 98 percent of the few remaining wetlands in the state. This could have devastating impacts on agricultural health in flood prone areas, urban runoff and stormwater management, habitat for threatened wildlife, and reduced ecosystem services such as natural water quality purification. 

Often, especially in recent years under severe drought, Iowa’s fields and urban communities are vulnerable to runoff from flash flooding. IEC comments, “Each acre of wetland in Iowa provides $745 in flood protection value annually. Cumulatively, this amounts to $477 million per year in reduced flood costs for the state. In the last six years, we have had 71 percent of our counties declared disaster areas due to flooding, and 40 percent of counties were declared disaster areas due to flooding more than once.” Limiting or constraining federal protections on WOTUS would undermine state efforts to address future flooding events. 

IEC General Counsel Mike Schmidt provided comments orally to the EPA at a stakeholder session on May 1. Read IEC’s submitted written comments here. 

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