Kansas Congressman Tracy Mann says the long-running debate over Waters of the United States may finally be nearing an end. Mann joined us this morning to talk about the recent WOTUS update, the path forward on the Farm Bill, and what House Republicans plan to prioritize in the new year.
For decades, WOTUS has been one of the most contentious regulatory issues in agriculture. The Clean Water Act gives the federal government authority over “navigable waters,” but administrations have differed sharply on how broadly that should be defined. Farmers and ranchers have long argued that expansive interpretations create uncertainty and expose routine farm practices to federal permitting requirements.
“WOTUS, or Waters of the U.S., has been a big issue throughout the Obama administration and then the Biden administration. There are those that take the Clean Water Act—everybody’s for clean water—but they look at the language and say it gives the federal government the ability to regulate farm ponds, drainage ditches, irrigation systems… way beyond what the federal government ought to be regulating.”
The Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA ruling significantly narrowed the federal government’s authority under the Clean Water Act by requiring that wetlands under federal jurisdiction must have a “continuous surface connection” to navigable waters. That decision forced EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to revise their existing rule and remove several categories of wetlands and small water features that had previously fallen under federal oversight.
Mann says that ruling set the stage for the Trump administration’s updated definition released last month, which he argues more closely aligns with the Court’s direction and longstanding agricultural concerns.
“The Trump administration finally clarified and brought forward a definition of Waters of the U.S. that does not include these unnavigable waterways—things like farm ponds and ditches. It’s a big win for agriculture. It’s common-sense policy, and hopefully the WOTUS ordeal is behind us.”
Major agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, have publicly supported efforts to narrow the WOTUS definition in line with the Sackett decision, saying it restores predictability and limits federal overreach. Environmental groups have signaled they may challenge aspects of the new rule, meaning litigation could continue even as the new definition takes effect.
As Congress returns to Washington, Mann says clarity on WOTUS is one of several regulatory issues lawmakers hope to close out while negotiations continue on a long-delayed Farm Bill, which will shape conservation programs, crop insurance, and rural development initiatives for years to come.
