States findings of the Legislature and requests federal action.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 13 BY RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL1 TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE U.S. ENVIRON-2 MENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, THE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR OF EPA REGION 10,3 THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (CIVIL WORKS), THE COMMANDING GEN-4 ERAL OF THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, THE COMMANDER OF THE U.S. ARMY5 CORPS OF ENGINEERS WALLA WALLA DISTRICT, THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO DE-6 PARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, THE DIRECTOR OF THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT7 OF LANDS, THE MEMBERS OF THE IDAHO WATER RESOURCE BOARD, THE PRESIDENT8 OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CON-9 GRESS, AND THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO10 IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.11 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Sen-12 ate of the State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the13 Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:14 WHEREAS, in 2004 the Sackett family purchased land near Priest Lake in15 Bonner County, Idaho; and16 WHEREAS, when the Sacketts attempted to start building their home in17 2007, they were quickly stopped by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)18 asserting jurisdiction pursuant to a 1996 determination by the U.S. Army19 Corps of Engineers (Corps) that the land was wetlands subject to the Clean20 Water Act (CWA), which the EPA itself affirmed in 2007; and21 WHEREAS, the CWA allows for federal jurisdiction, oversight, and regu-22 lation of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), which includes wetlands ad-23 jacent to WOTUS; and24 WHEREAS, the Sacketts fought for over a decade for their right to build25 on their property; and26 WHEREAS, finally, after nearly 16 years of litigation, the Supreme27 Court, in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., 598 U.S. 65128 (2023) (Sackett), sided with the Sacketts, finding that the EPA and Corps29 exceeded their authority, and announced a new standard for determining what30 is included in WOTUS and, thus, what is subject to federal jurisdiction; and31 WHEREAS, courts have historically applied a "significant nexus" test to32 determine whether waters are, in fact, WOTUS subject to federal jurisdic-33 tion, wherein waters or wetlands would so qualify if the wetland has a con-34 tinuous surface connection to waters that are WOTUS in their own right (i.e.35 traditional interstate navigable waters) such that it is difficult to de-36 termine where the water ends and the wetland begins. Courts have consis-37 tently held that nonnavigable, isolated, intrastate waters, including in-38 termittent or ephemeral streams, man-made drainage ditches, and culverts,39 were not, in fact, WOTUS subject to federal jurisdiction; and40 WHEREAS, the Supreme Court in Sackett further clarified the law by an-41 nouncing that the CWA extends only to wetlands with a continuous surface con-42 nection to waters that are WOTUS in their own right such that the wetland is43

2 indistinguishable from the WOTUS, and that the CWA use of WOTUS encompasses1 only those relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies2 of water forming geographical features that are described in ordinary par-3 lance as streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes; and4 WHEREAS, despite the decades of Supreme Court cases finding the EPA and5 Corps overextended their jurisdiction under the CWA by a misguided inter-6 pretation of what qualifies as WOTUS and providing clarification on how that7 term should be interpreted, the two agencies still fail to properly adhere to8 the law as provided by statute and judicial decree; and9 WHEREAS, notwithstanding the law and standards announced by the Supreme10 Court in its 2023 Sackett decision, among other decisions, the EPA and Corps11 continue to apply overturned and outdated rules and standards, such as by as-12 serting jurisdiction over intermittent and ephemeral streams and channels13 that are not relatively permanent or continuously flowing bodies of water14 and are not what ordinary people would describe as streams, oceans, rivers,15 or lakes; and16 WHEREAS, Idahoans are being materially injured by the two agencies'17 inability to follow current law and continuing to assert jurisdiction over18 "waters" that plainly do not qualify as WOTUS, such as stockwater ponds,19 ditches, and canals; and20 WHEREAS, Idaho, as the state in which the Sackett dispute arose, has21 a compelling interest in ensuring that federal agencies operating within22 Idaho's borders faithfully implement and adhere to the binding standards set23 forth by the Supreme Court in Sackett; and24 WHEREAS, federal agencies' refusal to follow current law increases25 compliance costs, delays permits, and causes injury to Idaho's agriculture,26 housing, transportation, energy, forestry, mining, and water infrastruc-27 ture projects, with accompanying adverse effects on jobs and regional28 competitiveness; and29 WHEREAS, Idaho's prosperity depends on predictable, lawful, and effi-30 cient permitting carried out with a spirit of cooperative federalism that31 respects the Supreme Court's Sackett decision and provides timely, trans-32 parent coordination with state authorities.33 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-34 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and35 the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature affirms the controlling36 standard announced by the Supreme Court in Sackett v. Environmental Pro-37 tection Agency that requires an indistinguishable surface connection to ex-38 ist for waters adjacent to "waters of the United States," which are rela-39 tively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water, to be40 subject to the Clean Water Act and federal regulation and jurisdiction, and41 the Legislature opposes any federal assertion of jurisdiction inconsistent42 with that standard.43 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the U.S. Environmen-44 tal Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fully and im-45 mediately implement the standard set forth in Sackett and formally recognize46 that intermittent and ephemeral streams, which are dry for long periods of47 time, are not "waters of the United States" subject to federal jurisdiction,48 but are instead subject to state and local oversight and regulation.49

3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the U.S. Environmen-1 tal Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to: rescind or2 revise any pre-Sackett guidance, training materials, or field manuals that3 rely on outdated and overturned laws, standards, and practices; provide up-4 dated materials, manuals, and policies that reflect current law; and pro-5 vide up-to-date training for Region 10 personnel and consultants operating6 in Idaho.7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges Idaho's congressional8 delegation to support legislation that codifies the standards set forth by9 the Supreme Court in Sackett in the Clean Water Act and creates oversight10 mechanisms to ensure that federal agencies do not reintroduce overturned and11 outdated standards through rule, guidance, or informal policy or practice.12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the Trump administra-13 tion to take the appropriate measures to ensure administrative rules that14 codify the standards set forth by the Supreme Court in Sackett are promptly15 promulgated and implemented by the agencies.16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Represen-17 tatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of18 this Memorial to the President of the United States, the Administrator of19 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Regional Administrator of EPA20 Region 10, the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), the Command-21 ing General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Commander of the U.S.22 Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District, the Director of the Idaho De-23 partment of Environmental Quality, the Director of the Idaho Department of24 Lands, the members of the Idaho Water Resource Board, the President of the25 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the26 congressional delegation representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of27 the United States.28