On November 18th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Corps of Engineers) announced that it has proposed a rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States.” The agencies propose to put back into place the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the United States,” updated to reflect consideration of Supreme Court decisions, including the use of "significant nexus" in determining areas regulated. The "significant nexus" test substantially expands the reach of areas subject to regulation.
In a directly related decision, the EPA on November 17th, issued a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordering a halt to the Yazoo Backwater Pump project along the Mississippi River in Mississippi, a project of significance to Mississippi farming where recent continuous flooding has caused extensive damage to cropland, property and life. In the Yazoo Backwater Pump decision, EPA cited the 2008 Clean Water Act in overturning a 2020 decision to allow the project to advance.
More below:
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/16836-epa-corps-to-return-to-pre-2015-wotus-interpretation
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2021/11/18/return-pre-2015-wotus-means-return
https://www.epa.gov/wotus/revising-definition-waters-united-states
Related Story on Yazoo Pump Station in Mississippi:
https://www.farmprogress.com/water/epa-stops-yazoo-pump-project
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-letter-confirms-yazoo-pumps-project-subject-2008-veto