"Southwestern states are bracing for many of their streams to lose federal safeguards under the EPA’s proposal to lift Clean Water Act protections for many wetlands and waterways across the US.
New Mexico, Arizona, California, and other arid states face the brunt of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal because it explicitly excludes streams that only run when it rains—one of the most common kinds of waterways in the desert Southwest.
The EPA proposed Monday a reduced scope of federal jurisdiction over waterways and wetlands as waters of the US, or WOTUS. The proposal appeared in the Federal Register pre-publication notices Wednesday and is open for public comment for 45 days.
“The proposed WOTUS definition will shed federal protections for at least 89% of New Mexico’s rivers and streams and up to 70% of our wetlands,” said Drew Goretzka, spokesman for the New Mexico Environment Department. “This is primarily because most of New Mexico’s surface water is ephemeral, including many tributaries to the Rio Grande.”"
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment November 21, 2025.
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