On December 5, 2025, Craig J. Pritzlaff, Acting Assistant Administrator of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), issued an internal memorandum instituting a “Compliance First” approach, immediately effective for all civil enforcement and compliance activities. This memo claims to introduce a policy shift: prioritizing timely and effective compliance over punitive enforcement and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA Proposes New Clean Water Act Definition of “Waters of the United States”
On November 20, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army published their proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Following more than a decade of litigation and WOTUS “repeal and replace” rulemaking, the current administration promotes…