Illinois has lost more than 90% of its original wetlands. What’s left faces grave danger from the Trump Administration’s new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rollback, which narrows Clean Water Act protections and leaves up to 94.6% of Illinois’ remaining wetlands—over 900,000 acres—at risk of dredging, filling, and pollution. The result will be more flooding, dirtier water, and higher costs for communities during storms and droughts.
The new rule claims to implement the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision, but in fact goes well beyond what Sackett requires. While Sackett narrowed protection to wetlands with a “continuous surface connection,” the proposed rule would exclude nearly all remaining wetlands in Illinois, which are connected through groundwater, seasonal flows, and broader wetland systems. It would also remove protections from wetlands whose connections are severed only by artificial barriers—such as levees, berms, and roads—even where water still moves between them through subsurface or periodic flows.
The Trump EPA’s new rule claims “clarity,” but the proposal creates confusion while stripping protections from waters that science—and common sense—tell us are vital to the health of entire watersheds.
Wetlands provide essential functions for environmental and community health. They absorb floodwaters, filter drinking water, support wildlife habitat, and absorb greenhouse gases. When we lose wetlands, we lose all of these benefits. And communities pay the price through flood damage, water treatment costs, and higher taxes and insurance premiums.
We can still change course. EPA should withdraw this rule and instead restore protections, to the fullest extent allowed under Sackett, for wetlands and streams that are hydrologically connected to navigable waters. Protecting wetlands means protecting our waters, our homes, and our communities.
Now is the time for action. Submit your public comment today and urge the EPA to withdraw the Polluted Water Rule and adopt a science-based WOTUS definition that truly protects our waters.
IMPORTANT: MAKE YOUR COMMENT PERSONAL
Federal agencies are reportedly using artificial intelligence to flag and discount comments that look like duplicates. To make sure your comment counts, please add at least a few sentences in your own words—where you live, a local wetland or stream you care about, and how flooding or water quality affect you.
Personalized comments carry much more weight.
