Executive Order 13778, signed on February 28, 2017, initiated a comprehensive review of the Obama administration's 2015 Waters of the United States rule, which had expanded federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act to include certain wetlands and tributary streams previously subject to less stringent oversight. The executive order directed the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider the rule's scope and propose a narrower definition of federally regulated waters. This mechanism effectively shifted regulatory authority from federal agencies to states and individual property owners by reducing the geographic scope of Clean Water Act protections.
The practical consequences of this rollback affected farmers, developers, and industrial operators seeking to use or modify land containing wetlands or headwater streams. Wetland restoration projects became more difficult to permit, agricultural operations gained more autonomy over drainage and land modification, and mining and extraction industries faced fewer federal constraints on projects in sensitive areas. Millions of acres of previously protected wetlands and streams became subject primarily to state regulation, which often proved less stringent than federal standards.
This action launched a cascading pattern of environmental deregulation that accelerated throughout subsequent administrations. The EPA leadership changes announced in 2026 under Lee Zeldin eliminated entire scientific departments and rescinded protections affecting air and water quality. Simultaneously, Trump administration decisions to strip protections from Minnesota wilderness areas and invoke the Defense Production Act for fossil fuel extraction demonstrated a coordinated strategy to subordinate environmental stewardship to extractive industries. The restructuring of Forest Service regional offices further weakened centralized environmental management across 193 million acres of public lands.
The 2015 Waters of the United States rule faced immediate legal challenges from industry groups, but the Trump administration's review process ultimately produced a replacement rule that narrowed federal jurisdiction significantly. Reversing this action would require restoring the original 2015 rule or issuing new regulations that once again extend Clean Water Act protections to headwater streams and seasonal wetlands, restoring federal oversight mechanisms that had regulated these ecosystems for environmental protection.
Executive Order 13778: Review of Waters of the United States Rule
π Environment Β· First Term (2017β2021) Β· π€ AI-categorized
President Trump signed Executive Order 13778 on February 28, 2017, directing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to review and reconsider the 2015 Waters of the United States rule. The order instructed agencies to propose a new rule that would narrow the federal definition of waters subject to Clean Water Act regulation. The practical effect was to reduce federal jurisdiction over certain wetlands and water bodies, allowing states and property owners greater authority over land use decisions on their properties.