Comment by October 9 to oppose the latest proposed rollback of Clean Water Act protections.

How to submit your comment

1. Review and personalize the draft comment on this page.
2. Before clicking “Continue to the next step,” copy your complete edited comment and save it somewhere you can access during the next step.
3. Click “Continue to the next step” to save your response with Bayou City Waterkeeper. We will keep you updated on changes to the Clean Water Act and other water justice issues.
4. Paste your copied comment into the federal form, complete the required fields, and submit it.
5. Save the Comment Tracking Number provided by Regulations.gov as confirmation that your comment was received.

Important: Submitting the form on this page does not send your comment to EPA or USACE. Your comment is officially filed only after you submit it through Regulations.gov and receive a Comment Tracking Number.

Background

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have proposed additional changes to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), which determines the waters that receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act.

The proposed update would limit protections to waters that remain standing or continuously flowing throughout the year. It would also establish a narrower standard for determining when wetlands have a continuous surface connection to another protected water. This would have an increased impact on the wetlands and bayous throughout the Greater Houston Area and Lower Galveston Bay Watershed.

The agencies are accepting public comments on these alternatives through October 9, 2026. Read the supplemental proposal.

The proposal could endanger seasonal tributaries, prairie potholes, floodplain wetlands, and bottomland wetlands connected to Buffalo Bayou, Brays Bayou, Cedar Bayou, Sims Bayou, White Oak Bayou, the Brazos River, San Jacinto River, Trinity River, and Galveston Bay. These features may not hold visible water throughout the year, but they can still store stormwater, filter runoff, and carry water and pollution into larger waterways downstream. Learn more about what the proposal could mean for our region.

Public comments become part of the official rulemaking record. Specific, personalized comments can help the agencies understand the proposal’s regional consequences, including how seasonal waters function, where state protections may be limited, and how changes in federal jurisdiction could affect flooding, water quality, development, and local infrastructure investments.

Comments must be submitted by October 9, 2026, under Docket EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322.