What Are "Waters of the United States"?
Present definition of this term as found in federal statute.
Under Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section (§) 122.2 , "Waters of the United States" or "waters of the U.S." has a specific meaning:
(i) The territorial seas, and waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide;
(ii) Tributaries;
(iii) Adjacent wetlands. Waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons designed to meet the requirements of CWA are not waters of the United States. This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water which neither were originally created in waters of the United States (such as disposal area in wetlands) nor resulted from the impoundment of waters of the United States. Waters of the United States do not include prior converted cropland. Notwithstanding the determination of an area’s status as prior converted cropland by any other federal agency, for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, the final authority regarding Clean Water Act jurisdiction remains with EPA.