MOUNT PLEASANT, SC – On April 23, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, on behalf of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, including the Ten Mile and St. Helena Island communities, provided comments and recommendations on how federal agencies should implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) following Sackett v. EPA (2023). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signaled their intent to redefine WOTUS via additional rulemaking in March 2025.

It is SCELP’s position that the Clean Water Act imposes a duty on federal agencies to protect the nation's waters, including wetlands and tributaries that play crucial roles in the broader watershed and are vital to the health of our ecosystems, our communities and future generations. This duty is especially urgent in light of climate change, increasing flood risks and ongoing water quality crises that disproportionately affect low-income and historically marginalized communities.

“Any additional loss of federal protections would devastate the natural environment and cultural traditions of these communities and exacerbate already flood-prone regions of the state,” said Kenzie Poole, staff attorney at SCELP. “The Clean Water Act was designed to protect all our waters—not just the most visible ones. Science, equity, and environmental protection must remain at the center of water policy.”

The Sackett ruling was a dramatic departure from the standard practices established over nearly five decades of legislation and judicial interpretation of WOTUS. SCELP’s comments emphasize the significant impact that further deregulation would have on South Carolina—a state made up of approximately 4.6 million acres of wetlands.

The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers will host listening sessions to gather input on the definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act. The listening sessions are intended to help the EPA and Army understand real-world perspectives and experiences with WOTUS implementation to inform the agencies’ upcoming proposed rule. On May 1, SCELP’s newest staff attorney, Kenzie Poole, will be attending the stakeholder listening session for environmental groups, offering the perspective of SCELP and the organizations and community members that signed onto our comment letter.

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CONTACTS:

Kenzie Poole, Staff Attorney (Pending Bar Admission)‍

South Carolina Environmental Law Project

kenzie@scelp.org, (843) 527-0078

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