The scope of the terms “navigable waters” and “waters of the United States” is relevant under several CWA programs, including those statutory schemes governing discharges of dredged or fill material under Section 404, administered jointly by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) and EPA discharges of pollutants from “point sources” under Section 402, delegated to most states for permitting under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System and spills of oil and hazardous substances under Section 311. The CWA regulates discharges to “navigable waters,” which the statute defines as “waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” 33 U.S.C. 1 This means that enforcement of the CWA by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and by private plaintiffs is limited to the waters and wetlands so described-a notable narrowing of the Court’s prior interpretation. § 1362(7)-means “streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes” and wetlands that are so adjacent as to be “indistinguishable” from those waters due to a continuous surface connection. On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the term “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”)-as used in the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C.
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