WOTUS

 WOTUS is based in the federal Clean Water Act of 1972. That law empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” and the Army Corps of Engineers to protect waters of the United States from pollution, however the Act itself did not define what would be covered by the law, leaving the definition to be covered by regulation put forward by EPA and the Corps. In 2018, the two agencies proposed regulations that subsequently were contested in the courts, with the proposal set aside by the Supreme Court. In that decision, two important terms were introduced: “relatively permanent” and “significant nexus”. (“Relatively permanent” means waters that are relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing and waters with a continuous surface connection to such waters. ”Significant nexus” means waters that either alone or in combination with similarly situated waters in the region significantly affect the chemical, physical, or biological integrity of traditional navigable waters / interstate waters, i.e., are connected.

                Among others, the regulation specifically excludes converted cropland designated by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture, ditches draining only dry land, and that do not carry a relatively permanent flow of water, artificially irrigated areas, artificial lakes / ponds, and swales and erosional features having low volume, infrequent or short duration flow, i.e., are ephemeral.

Maryland has a long history of and experience with water protection; major problems with implementing WOTUS are not anticipated in our State.