This joint memorandum, "Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in Rapanos v. United States & Carabell v. United States," (signed December 2, 2008), provides guidance to EPA regions and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) districts implementing the Supreme Court's decision in the consolidated cases Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. United States which address the jurisdiction over waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act. This guidance incorporates revisions to the EPA/Army Memorandum originally issued on June 6, 2007, after careful consideration of public comments received and based on the agencies' experience in implementing the Rapanos decision

In addition, related documents include Questions and Answers Regarding the Revised Rapanos & Carabell Guidance and the June 2007 Memorandum of Agreement regarding Coordination on Jurisdictional Determinations under Clean Water Act Section 404 in Light of the SWANCC and Rapanos Supreme Court Decisions.

Please note that in response to the temporary stay on implementation of the 2015 Clean Water Rule in 28 states, EPA and the Department of Army are implementing the agencies’ prior regulations, as clarified by this 2008 Rapanos guidance and the 2003 SWANCC in those states; please see the rule status and litigation update webpage for additional information. 

• Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in Rapanos v. United States & Carabell v. United States (PDF)(13 pp, 1 MB, December 2, 2008)
• Questions and Answers Regarding the Revised Rapanos & Carabell Guidance (PDF)(3 pp, 77 K, December 2, 2008)
• June 2007 Legal Memorandum (PDF)(12 pp, 288 K, June 5, 2007)
  This guidance is superceded by the December 2008 guidance
• June 2007 Memorandum of Agreement regarding Coordination on Jurisdictional Determinations under Clean Water Act Section 404 in Light of the SWANCC and Rapanos Supreme Court Decisions (PDF)(7 pp, 117 K, June 5, 2007)