Wetlands Permitting Bill Locks In State Control for MI, NJ, FL, Blocks EPA Oversight

The newly introduced Maintaining Cooperative Permitting Act of 2025 is short, but it packs a punch for anyone living in Michigan, New Jersey, or Florida—or anyone concerned about how development affects wetlands. This bill’s main goal is to solidify state control over certain environmental permits and, crucially, yank the rug out from under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when it comes to withdrawing approval for these programs.

The EPA’s Hands Are Tied

This legislation focuses on state programs that regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material, which is essentially the permitting process for building on or altering wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Currently, the EPA can pull the plug on a state’s approved program if it determines the state is no longer meeting federal standards. This bill changes that completely for three specific states. Section 2 ratifies and locks in the existing state programs for Michigan (approved 1984), New Jersey (approved 1994), and Florida (approved 2020). The key phrase here is that the EPA Administrator absolutely cannot withdraw approval for these three programs unless Congress passes a new law specifically allowing it. Think of it like a permanent, non-revocable federal endorsement for these specific state programs, regardless of future performance. For developers and state officials in these areas, this is regulatory certainty gold; for environmental watchdogs, this removes a critical federal safety net.

The Florida Transition and Future State Approvals

Florida’s program, being the newest of the three, gets a special 90-day transition period starting from the bill’s enactment. During this time, both the State of Florida and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can issue permits concurrently. This dual authority could create a brief window of confusion or even conflicting permits before the state fully takes over. If you’re a contractor or a homeowner in Florida needing a permit during this window, you might have two different agencies telling you two different things.

The bill also sets up a mandatory process for future state programs seeking similar approval. If a new state applies and the EPA Administrator finds its program is “substantially the same” as the protected programs in MI, NJ, or FL, the Administrator must approve it. Once that happens, the Army Corps of Engineers has to stop issuing federal permits in that state. This provision essentially smooths the path for other states to take over this permitting authority, reducing the federal government’s role in protecting wetlands across the country.

What This Means on the Ground

For people in Michigan, New Jersey, and Florida, this bill means that the state agency is now the definitive authority on wetland permitting, and that authority is extremely difficult to challenge federally. If you own property near a wetland and are concerned about a new development, your recourse is now almost entirely at the state level. The federal government, through the EPA, loses its final say on whether the state is doing a good enough job protecting these vital water resources. This shift is a significant win for state autonomy and potentially faster permitting for projects like housing developments or infrastructure, but it also means that the environmental outcomes are now solely dependent on the regulatory rigor and enforcement priorities of the individual state governments.