On May 27, the EPA and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean Water Rule, which was created to clearly protect streams and wetlands from pollution and degradation. According to a press release from the EPA, the rule:

• Clearly defines and protects tributaries that impact the health of downstream waters. The Clean Water Act protects navigable waterways and their tributaries. The rule says a tributary must show physical features of flowing water — a bed, bank and ordinary high water mark — to warrant protection. 
• Provides certainty in how far safeguards extend to nearby waters. The rule protects waters that are next to rivers and lakes and their tributaries because science shows they affect downstream waters. The rule sets boundaries on covering nearby waters for the first time that are physical and measurable.
• Protects the nation’s regional water treasures. Science shows that specific water features can function like a system and affect the health of downstream waters. The rule protects prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California and Texas coastal prairie wetlands when they impact downstream waters.
• Focuses on streams, not ditches. The rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream. So ditches that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not covered.
• Maintains the status of waters within Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. The rule does not change how those waters are treated and encourages the use of green infrastructure.
• Reduces the use of case-specific analysis of waters. Previously, almost any water could be put through a lengthy case-specific analysis, even if it would not be subject to the Clean Water Act. The rule significantly limits the use of case-specific analysis by creating clarity and certainty on protected waters and limiting the number of similarly situated water features.

The rule becomes effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Source: EPA press release