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  2. Waters of the United States

Proposed Revised Definition of WOTUS - Public Hearing

Learn more about the public hearings held in January 2022 on the proposed rule Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States." 

The public hearing was held on February 27 and 28, 2019.

On December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) signed a proposed rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” to clarify the scope of waters federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. The agencies announced that a public hearing will be held in Kansas City, Kansas, with sessions on February 27 and February 28, 2019, to provide interested parties the opportunity to present data, views, or information concerning the proposed rule. 

The hearing was held in the Wyandotte Ballroom of the Reardon Convention Center, 520 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. EPA and the Army hosted two public hearing sessions - one on Wednesday, February 27, and one on Thursday, February 28.

  • The Wednesday, February 27, session of the public hearing convened at 4:00 pm (local time) and concluded at 8:00 pm.
  • The Thursday, February 28, session convened at 9:00 am and concluded at 1:30 pm.

The proposed rule published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2019. The comment period on the proposed action ended on April 15, 2019, and comments on the proposal can be found in the docket on regulations.gov. On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) signed the final Navigable Waters Protection Rule to define “Waters of the United States.” The final rule became effective on June 22, 2020 and was vacated on August 30, 2021 in the case of Pascua Yaqui Tribe v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For information on the final rule, please visit the Rule Status and Litigation Update webpage. 

Agenda, List of Speakers, and Transcript for the Public Hearing in Kansas City, KS

The agencies have posted below a general agenda for the hearing  that lists pre-registered speakers in approximate order. A transcript of the public hearing is available in the docket. 

  • Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States" Notice of Public Hearing (pdf) (225.79 KB)
  • Proposed Rule Public Hearing Agenda and List of Speakers (pdf) (139.14 KB)

Waters of the United States

  • About Waters of the United States
    • Programs Utilizing the Definition of Waters of the United States
  • Current Implementation of Waters of the United States
    • Coordination Process and Memoranda to the Field
    • Rule Status and Litigation Update
    • Implementation Tools and Methods
  • Revising the Definition of Waters of the United States
    • Amendments to the 2023 Rule
    • Training Presentations
    • Public Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement Activities
Contact Us about Waters of the United States
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Last updated on April 17, 2025
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