FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2025
Contact:
Robert Hirschfeld, Director of Water Policy, Prairie Rivers Network
rhirschfeld@prairierivers.org | 217-344-2371 x805
Prairie Rivers Network urges passage of Illinois Wetlands Protection Act
Illinois — Today, the Trump Administration’s EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released a new Waters of the United States rule—one that radically narrows which waters are protected from pollution and destruction under the Clean Water Act. This rule, crafted in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision, will leave thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands vulnerable to dredging, filling, contamination, and irreversible loss.
In Illinois, the consequences are especially dire. According to recent analysis by University of Illinois researchers, up to 72% of Illinois’ remaining wetlands—more than 700,000 acres—could lose federal protection. These wetlands keep our drinking water clean, provide critical habitat, and protect entire communities during storms, delivering an estimated $419 million in annual residential flood control benefits. Losing them would be both environmentally disastrous and financially reckless.
“If Illinois is serious about protecting its people, then Gov. Pritzker needs to act,” said Robert Hirschfeld, Director of Water Policy at Prairie Rivers Network. “Wetlands protect us from flooding and keep our drinking water safe. Failing to respond to this federal rollback puts Illinois communities at risk. If the Governor leads, the legislature and state agencies will follow. It’s time for him to step up.”
A Rule Built on the Court’s Misinterpretation of the Clean Water Act
The new rule leans heavily on the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision, which held that wetlands can only be protected if they share a “continuous surface connection” with a navigable lake or river. This standard excludes countless wetlands that are hydrologically connected below the surface, through seasonal flows, or through wetland complexes that function as a unit—even though science shows they are essential to water quality and flood control.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a cross-ideological concurrence joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, sharply criticized the majority for rewriting the statute. He warned that the Court’s novel test contradicts decades of agency practice and congressional intent and will leave many long-regulated wetlands unprotected—precisely the outcome now imposed by today’s rule.
The agencies’ proposal doubles down on that flawed logic, relying on narrow concepts such as “direct abutment” and “permanent surface water” to determine jurisdiction. Wetlands or streams divided by a berm, separated by vegetation, or connected through groundwater or seasonal flow are simply written off the map. The rule claims “clarity,” but achieves it by excluding waters that science—and common sense—tell us are vital to the health of entire watersheds.
Illinois Is Ground Zero for the Consequences and Must Act
Illinois has already lost more than 85% of its original wetlands, and the remainder are disproportionately located in regions facing the greatest flood risk.
Yet even as flood risks rise, the Trump Administration is simultaneously proposing cuts to FEMA and scaling back disaster aid. In a future where federal support is intentionally uncertain, wetlands become irreplaceable life-saving infrastructure.
Illinois lawmakers have a clear path forward. SB 2401, the Illinois Wetlands Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Laura Ellman, would establish a state permitting program to safeguard wetlands abandoned by federal law. It restores oversight where Washington has walked away and ensures that critical natural flood infrastructure isn’t erased by bulldozers and short-term profit.
“Illinois cannot wait another year,” said Hirschfeld. “More than two years after the Sackett ruling, the state has yet to enact new protections. Governor Pritzker has positioned Illinois as a bulwark against the Trump Administration, but on the most basic public health issue of all—clean water—state leadership has fallen short. Passing the Illinois Wetlands Protection Act is an opportunity to change that.”
At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
