WHY THE CLEAN WATER RULE IS IMPORTANT

Clean and reliable water is an economic driver, including for 

manufacturing, farming, tourism, recreation, and energy production. 

Protection for about 60 percent of the nation’s streams and millions 

of acres of wetlands has been confusing and complex since Supreme 

Court decisions in 2001 and 2006. In addition to making valuable 

water resources more vulnerable, this has often resulted in time 

consuming determinations of protected waters, which delays the 

activities of businesses. EPA and the U.S. Army are ensuring that 

waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely 

defined, more predictably determined, and easier for businesses and 

industry to understand.

INPUT SHAPED THE RULE

After releasing the proposed rule last year, the agencies held more than 400 meetings with stakeholders 

across the country to provide information, hear concerns, and answer questions. The agencies reviewed 

over one million public comments, and listened carefully to perspectives from all sides. All of this public 

input helped to shape the final Clean Water Rule.

A survey by the American Sustainable Business Council found that 80 percent of small business owners 

favor including small streams and headwaters in federal clean water protections. More than 300 small 

businesses across the country wrote a letter to the President supporting protections for critical 

waterways across the country. The 800,000 Latino-owned businesses that make up the Latin Business 

Association supported this commonsense proposal in a column. 

WHAT THE RULE DOES

The Clean Water Rule protects streams and wetlands that are scientifically shown to have the greatest 

impact on downstream water quality and form the foundation of our nation’s water resources. 

Specifically, the Clean Water Rule:

• Clearly defines and protects tributaries that impact the health of downstream waters. The 

Clean Water Act protects navigable waterways and their tributaries. The rule says that a 

tributary must show physical features of flowing water – a bed, bank, and ordinary high water 

mark – to warrant protection. The rule provides protection for headwaters that have these 

features and science shows can have a significant connection to downstream waters.

• Provides certainty in how far safeguards extend to nearby waters. The rule protects waters 

that are next to rivers and lakes and their tributaries because science shows that they impact 

downstream waters. The rule sets boundaries on covering nearby waters for the first time that 

are physical and measurable.

• Protects the nation’s regional water treasures. Science shows that specific water features can 

function like a system and impact the health of downstream waters. The rule protects prairie 

The Clean Water Act 

protects the nation’s 

waters. A Clean Water 

Act permit is only 

needed if these waters

are going to be polluted 

or destroyed.

www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule Clear Protection for Clean Water
potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California, and Texas 

coastal prairie wetlands when they impact downstream waters.

• Focuses on streams, not ditches. The rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed out 

of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream. So ditches that are not 

constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not covered.

• Maintains the status of waters within Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. The rule does 

not change how those waters are treated and encourages the use of green infrastructure.

• Reduces the use of case-specific analysis of waters. Previously, almost any water could be put 

through a lengthy case-specific analysis, even if it would not be subject to the Clean Water Act. 

The rule significantly limits the use of case-specific analysis by creating clarity and certainty on 

protected waters and limiting the number of similarly situated water features. 

The rule only protects waters that have historically been covered under the Clean Water Act. It does not

add any new requirements for agriculture and retains all of the exemptions and exclusions for farming,

ranching, and forestry. It does not interfere with private property rights or address land use. It does not

regulate most ditches; regulate groundwater, shallow subsurface flows or tile drains; or change policy

on irrigation or water transfers.

BUSINESSES DEPEND ON CLEAN, RELIABLE WATER

Our nation’s businesses depend on clean, reliable

water to operate. Here are a few examples:

• Manufacturing companies use more than 9 

trillion gallons of fresh water every year.

• The beverage industry uses about 12 billion 

gallons of water annually to produce products 

valued at $58 billion. Brewers depend on clean 

water, which is more than 90 percent of beer. 

• Fishing is a $48 billion per year industry that 

supports a million family wage jobs. About 33 

million Americans go fishing each year.

• Fishermen, hunters, and wildlife watchers spent $144.7 billion in 2011 on activities, equal to 1 

percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

• Aquatic recreation is big business. This includes kayaking, canoeing, rafting, surfing, and 

swimming. About 19 million people participate in paddling each year, spending $86 billion on 

gear and trips.

• Agriculture across America depends on clean and reliable water for livestock, crops, and 

irrigation. The Clean Water Rule provides greater clarity and certainty to farmers and does not 

add economic burden on agriculture.

FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE

Science shows us the most important waters to protect. In developing the Clean Water Rule, the 

Agencies utilized the latest science, including a report summarizing more than 1,200 peer-reviewed, 

published scientific studies which showed that small streams and wetlands play an important role in the 

health of larger downstream waterways like rivers and lakes.

MORE INFORMATION: WWW.EPA.GOV/CLEANWATERRULE & WWW.ARMY.MIL/ASACW

www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule Clear Protection for Clean Water