ATLANTA, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has joined a 20-state coalition in sending a formal comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the updated definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The longstanding WOTUS controversy has placed undue regulatory burdens on Georgia’s farmers, landowners and businesses, often subjecting routine land use activities to costly federal permitting processes. 

Carr has been on the forefront of this fight for years – securing a preliminary injunction that protects farmers and landowners from the Biden-era WOTUS rule. Now, the Trump administration is seeking to rollback that rule with a new proposal that aims to restore clarity and predictability to environmental regulations, while maintaining critical protections for our nation’s waterways.    

“When the Biden administration sought to regulate every stream in your yard and puddle on your farm, we fought back and won,” said Carr. “Now, we’re taking action in support of commonsense proposals that will cut the bureaucratic overreach and allow our farmers and landowners to thrive. States should be in control of their own waters, and we’re committed to protecting that right and Georgia’s No. 1 industry.” 

Historically, states always regulated waters within their borders. The Clean Water Act was supposed to respect this. However, under the Biden and Obama administrations, federal agencies sought to unlawfully expand the definition of WOTUS, thereby expanding federal control of waters. Under these previous expansive definitions of WOTUS, landowners faced permit costs averaging over $250,000 and permit wait times exceeding two years for projects on their own property. Farmers reported needing federal permits for activities like plowing fields or building bridges over dry washes on their land. 

This new proposal from the Trump administration seeks to rein in bureaucratic overreach and restore state authority. 

Joining Carr in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.  

Find a copy of the letter  Download this pdf file. here .  

Previous WOTUS Actions  

In 2023, Carr led a 24-state coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule that sought to redefine “navigable waters” to include ponds, certain streams, and other bodies of water. A federal court ruled in favor of Carr's coalition – ultimately blocking the rule from taking effect.  

In 2020, Carr co-led a 23-state coalition in filing a brief in support of the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. This rule defined WOTUS over which federal regulators can impose permitting and other requirements on farmers, developers, and other landowners across the country. In the brief, Carr and his fellow attorneys general urged the Court to consider the interests of Georgia and the rest of the coalition when deciding a challenge to the rule brought by a separate group of attorneys general led by New York and California. 

Carr previously led litigation challenging the 2015 WOTUS Rule on behalf of an 11-state coalition. In part, this rule would have provided the federal government with jurisdiction to implement complex federal mandates over state natural resources. In 2018, the coalition secured a preliminary injunction that blocked the Obama-era rule from taking effect in Georgia and 10 other states. 

Carr similarly led a 10-state coalition in successfully blocking the 2015 WOTUS Rule in 2019.