Congresswoman Scholten Statement on New Proposal to Narrow the Scope of the Clean Water Act

October 7, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03), Vice Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, released the following statement on the new proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act by redefining what qualifies as “Waters of the United States,” stripping protections from freshwater wetlands across Michigan and the country. “Clean water should never be a partisan issue. Every family, every child, every individual deserves access to clean water – for drinking, for recreation, and for business. This unilateral move by the Trump Administration threatens to reverse decades of work and progress cleaning up our lakes, rivers, and wetlands. As Vice Ranking Member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, I’ve seen firsthand how the protections from the Clean Water Act keep our communities safe and have cleaned our waterways. Our children and our children’s children could be doomed to inherit polluted waterways–a problem we’ve already addressed and nearly solved. We cannot afford to go back.” Earlier this year, Congresswoman Scholten published an article in the Harvard Law School Journal of Legislation titled “The Retreat of Cooperative Federalism: Water Rights in a Fragmented Regulatory Era.” The article argues that Congress must work with states to maintain baseline environmental protections, following decades of Supreme Court decisions — including Sackett v. EPA — that have weakened the Clean Water Act of 1972. ### Issues : Protecting our Environment and Great Lakes Letters