Take Action: EPA’s Latest Clean Water Act Proposed Changes

Tell the EPA to Protect Our Waterways!

Now is the time to speak up and urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect streams, wetlands, and drinking-water sources and not to weaken Clean Water Act protections. Submit a public comment during the 30-day comment period and make your voice heard

Below we provide sample language you can use or adapt for your comment letter, along with instructions for submitting your comment through the Federal Register

Your voice matters—take a few minutes to share why the waters and wetlands of the Indiana Dunes are important to you

The deadline to submit comments is Oct. 9, 2026

New Proposed Rule Would Further Weaken the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act is a federal law enacted in 1948 that helps protect the nation’s rivers, streams, wetlands, and other waters from pollution and other related events. Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is the term used to describe which waters are covered by certain Clean Water Act protections.

WOTUS helps determine which waters receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act and which do not.

The 2025 Water of the United States (WOTUS) proposed rule narrowed the waters covered by the Clean Water Act by requiring federally protected wetlands to have a continuous surface connection to certain jurisdictional waters and by revising the definition. This could mean many seasonal streams and wetlands would lose federal protection and rely mainly on Indiana state laws. Unfortunately, Indiana law exempts many wetlands and activities from permitting, many wetlands would be left with little or no protection.

2026 EPA supplemental proposal adds options that could make the federal definition of protected waters narrower. It puts more emphasis on whether a stream or wetland has water year-round and whether a wetland has a clear, continuous surface-water connection to a federally protected water. It also asks whether only wetlands that are essentially indistinguishable from connected waters should qualify. These proposed changes could affect which seasonal waters and wetlands qualify for federal protection, putting thousands of critically rare wetlands in Indiana at risk.

Our Concerns with the Proposed Rule:
Many of our Indiana Dunes National Park wetlands and seasonal waters are connected to waters that may not qualify for federal protections in the future.

If these connecting waters fall outside federal protections, the wetlands that depend on them could be more vulnerable to impacts.

Join us by asking the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to not reduce Clean Water Act protections any further

The agencies already updated the WOTUS rule in 2023 following the Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA. Now, they are considering additional limits that could leave more streams and almost all wetlands without federal protections.

Sample Language to add to your comment letter:

I encourage the agencies to consider the consequences for communities and protect the waters we depend on for clean drinking water, wildlife, and other essential needs.
Limiting federal protections to just perennial or almost perennial waters would eliminate federal protections for the majority of streams and hundreds of wetlands in Indiana.
Mapping models show that over 90% of historically protected wetlands would lose Clean Water Act protections if these changes were to take effect
Many streams and wetlands don’t flow year-round in our region of Northwest Indiana, but they are still vital to clean water and healthy communities. Reducing federal protections could put these waters in danger.
The EPA should maintain strong Clean Water Act protections and reject proposals that would further narrow federal protections for streams and wetlands.

Click on the button below to submit your comments!