WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, sent a comment letter in response to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army’s recent notice requesting recommendations for how future regulations pertaining to the Clean Water Act (CWA) can best adhere to the  U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA.

NFIB provided suggestions that would ensure clarity and consistency for small businesses as rulemaking bodies look to draft new regulations relating to “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).

“Uncertainty is a nemesis of small business owners,” said NFIB Senior Attorney Rob Smith. “Small business landowners, and all property owners, deserve straightforward, invariable guidelines from their regulating bodies. Many family-run or small enterprises do not have dedicated lawyers or compliance officers helping them decipher and implement new regulations. NFIB is pleased that the EPA and Army are working diligently to incorporate the Court’s decision into their rulemaking process in a way that protects the nations waters while respecting the rights and needs of small business landowners.”

NFIB’s comment letter recommended five ways in which the EPA and Army should proceed when seeking to implement new WOTUS regulations. NFIB recommends that: 1) Any regulation put forth define the extent to which wetlands are considered waters; 2) Agencies give small business owners the opportunity to correct violations so that enforcement actions only occur in cases of willful, repeated violations; 3) The EPA and Army should submit to Congress proposed legislation to amend the Clean Waters Act to include a common sense definition of the term “navigable waters”; 4) The Agencies adopt an easy to understand bright line rule to address what “relatively permanent” means; and 5) The EPA and Army explicitly exclude ditches from the CWA’s general purview.

NFIB filed an amicus brief in the 2022 case Sackett v. EPA at the United States Supreme Court urging the Court to address the confusing WOTUS standards impacting small business owners nationwide. NFIB opposed the previous Administration’s WOTUS rule,  which sought to broadly expand federal jurisdiction over private property.