WASHINGTON—As the Environmental Protection Agency undertakes its review of waterways receiving federal protection, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., hopes the agency's next actions provide certainty after years of inconsistency.

Boozman, of Rogers, and other federal lawmakers joined EPA administrator Lee Zeldin at the agency's headquarters last Wednesday, where Zeldin announced the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will revise the "waters of the United States" rule in hopes of providing "clarity, simplicity and improvements that will stand the test of time."

The U.S. Supreme Court in May 2023 diminished the EPA's ability to enforce the Clean Water Act regulating water pollutants, ruling the EPA's authority only applies to navigable waterways like rivers, streams and wetlands with a "continuous surface connection" to a larger body of water.

Both the Obama and Biden administrations sought to expand the kinds of waterways eligible for federal protection, with the latter rewriting protections to fit the Supreme Court's decision. During Donald Trump's first presidency, the EPA limited protected waterways.

"The Constitution is very clear that the federal government has jurisdiction over navigable waters," Boozman told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "Through the years, we have a situation where that navigable water has turned into almost any body of water at present."

A major component of the EPA's review will involve engaging with stakeholders, including farmers and community leaders. Zeldin, a former Republican congressman, said the EPA's goal in revising "waters of the United States" is not to implement an activist definition of protected waterways, but rather provide an understanding utilizing input and the 2023 Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision.

"We are not looking for this to be a ping pong anymore," he added.

During last week's announcement, Boozman recalled conversations with agricultural producers on water regulations amid his nationwide series of farm bill roundtables. According to the senator, farmers have approached him about the "waters of the United States" definition and confusion stemming from its changes.

"The worst thing is when you're uncertain," he said. "You can play with bad rules, you can play with good rules. If you don't know what the rules are, you simply can't play. It freezes people, and that's what we've had in the past."

Speaking with the Democrat-Gazette, Boozman said a broad definition means additional permits for farmers wanting to undertake projects such as smoothing landscapes or filling depressions holding water.

"It might take years for somebody somewhere to decide whether or not that was a navigable water," he said. "Because of that, it was a very, very difficult rule."

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall lauded Zeldin's announcement. Duvall, addressing attendees of last Wednesday's ceremony, expressed hope that the review will serve as a "first big step" in providing farmers and ranchers with optimism amid a struggling agricultural economy.

"This is one of the worst farm economies that we've had in decades, and there's so many things that need to happen to help our rural communities by helping our farmers and ranchers," he said. "Our farmers and ranchers want to do what's right. They just want to know what right is."

The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee -- which Boozman chairs -- started this Congress by holding hearings on the agricultural economy, which involved hearing from producers struggling to manage their operations under the outdated 2018 farm bill.

Earthjustice, a nonprofit organization prioritizing environmental causes, pushed back against the EPA's decision, saying the likely revision will mean "fewer enforcers to hold polluters accountable," endangering public health in the process.

"After decades of misinformation and campaigning, corporate polluters won big when Sackett v. EPA gutted clean water protections for most wetlands and millions of miles of streams," senior legislative counsel Julian Gonzalez said in a release. "This administration is ignoring the will of the people, who overwhelmingly demand clean water."

Click here to read the full story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.