Wisconsin Wetlands and Waterways Would Lose Protection Under EPA's Proposed Rule. Comments needed by January 5, 2026.

Wisconsin Wetlands and Waterways Would Lose Protection Under EPA's Proposed Rule.

Comments needed by January 5, 2026.

This is a summary of an article posted on WPR by Danielle Kaeding on Dec 26, 2025.

Most Wisconsin wetlands would lack federal protection under EPA’s proposed rule. In fact, only 13% of roughly 6 million acres of wetlands in Wisconsin would be federally protected under changes to the proposed rule.

Last month the federal government unveiled the "waters of the United States" proposal that would remove federal protection for the majority of Wisconsin Wetlands. Although, state protections would still be in place, funds for protecting this land would be greatly reduced.

Wetland advocates say some Wisconsin wetlands would be more vulnerable to development under narrow exemptions in state law.

In November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers proposed changes that would strip federal protections for more than 80 percent of the nation’s wetlands, according to a regulatory impact analysis. That same analysis shows just 13 percent or 791,933 acres of Wisconsin wetlands would be federally protected.

According to an article by WPR published Dec 26, 2025 by Danielle Kaeding, "By 1990, Wisconsin had already lost more than half of roughly 10 million acres of wetlands due largely to farming practices. Now, wetland mapping shows Wisconsin has around 6 million acres of wetlands."

The extent of the rule’s impacts on the state’s remaining wetlands is unclear, said Erin O’Brien, policy programs director for the Wisconsin Wetlands Association.

“Measuring the … acreage of unprotected waters or actual potential impacts is really difficult,” O’Brien said. “Just because something’s left unprotected, that doesn’t mean there will be a proposal to develop it. It just means that it’s vulnerable to development.”

The proposed changes follow a 2023 Supreme Court ruling known as the Sackett decision that limited the EPA’s power to prevent pollution of certain wetlands. Under the ruling, the court’s conservative majority found only wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to “relatively permanent” waterways such as lakes and rivers can be regulated under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA is now defining “relatively permanent” waterways as those that flow during the “wet season” or year-round. The definition will be used to determine whether landowners or developers need a federal permit for projects.

Some smaller wetlands in Wisconsin could be more vulnerable to development due to narrow exemptions under state law for nonfederal wetlands or wetlands regulated by the state.

The EPA is accepting comments on the rule through Jan. 5. Make your voice heard by submitting a comment to the EPA. https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322-0001 

More information can be found on the EPA Website. https://www.epa.gov/wotus

To read the full article from WPR’s Danielle Kaeding visit https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-wetlands-lack-federal-protection-epa-proposed-rule