The EPA removes federal protections for most of the country's wetlands

A snowy egret stands within the salt marsh at Station Creek Landing in St Helena, S.C., on July 10, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Environmental Protection Agency removed federal protections for a majority of the country's wetlands on Tuesday to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The EPA and Department of the Army announced a final rule amending the definition of protected "waters of the United States" in light of the decision in Sackett v. EPA in May, which narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act and the agency's power to regulate waterways and wetlands.