What Are
Waters of the
United States?

The 1972 amendments to the Clean Water Act established federal jurisdiction over “navigable waters,” defined in the Act as the “waters of the United States” (CWA Section 502(7)) ("WOTUS"). The Clean Water Act provides discretion for EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army (Army) to define “waters of the United States” in regulations. (https://www.epa.gov/wotus/about-waters-united-states)

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The below images show the current jurisdictional authority of the EPA.