Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf
Page Number: 74.0

Cite as:  598 U. S. ____ (2023) 

7 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring in judgment 

37144; see 45 Fed. Reg. 85345. 

  In  1986,  under  President  Reagan,  the  Army  Corps
adopted a new regulatory provision defining “waters of 
the  United  States”  and  reaffirmed  that  “adjacent”
wetlands  include  wetlands  “separated  from  other 
waters  of  the  United  States  by  man-made  dikes  or 
barriers,  natural  river  berms,  beach  dunes  and  the 
like.”  51 Fed. Reg. 41210, 41251. 

  From  1986  until  2015,  under  Presidents  Reagan,
George  H. W.  Bush,  Clinton,  George  W.  Bush,  and 
Obama,  the  regulations  continued  to  cover  wetlands 
“separated  from other  waters of the United States by 
man-made  dikes  or  barriers,  natural  river  berms, 
beach  dunes  and  the  like.”  See  33  CFR  §328.3(c)
(1991);  40  CFR  §230.3(b)  (1991);  33  CFR  §328.3(c) 
(1998);  40  CFR  §230.3(b)  (1998);  33  CFR  §328.3(c) 
(2005);  40  CFR  §230.3(b)  (2005);  33  CFR  §328.3(c) 
(2010); 40 CFR §230.3(b) (2010). 

  In 2015, under President Obama, the Army Corps and 
EPA  promulgated  a  new  rule,  which  again  specified 
that  “adjacent”  wetlands  include  wetlands  “separated
by constructed dikes or barriers, natural river berms,
beach dunes, and the like.”  80 Fed. Reg. 37105, 37116. 
  In 2019 and 2020, under President Trump,  the Army
Corps  and  EPA  repealed  the  2015  rule  and  issued  a
new rule.  But even following the repeal and new rule, 
adjacent  wetlands 
that  are 
“physically  separated”  from  certain  covered  waters 
“only by a natural berm, bank, dune, or similar natural
feature” or “only by an artificial dike, barrier, or similar
artificial structure so long as that structure allows for 
a direct hydrologic surface connection . . . in a typical 
year,  such  as  through  a  culvert,  flood  or  tide  gate,
pump, or similar artificial feature.”  85 Fed. Reg. 22338, 
22340 (2020). 

included  wetlands