Daniel Salzler No. 1335 EnviroInsight.org Six Items December 5, 2025
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1. EPA, Army Propose New Waters Of The United States (WOTUS) Definition Aimed At Clarity And Regulatory Certainty. The EPA and U.S. Army have introduced a proposed WOTUS rule to define federally regulated waters more clearly, following the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.
Key Article Highlights
- The proposed rule defines key terms such as ‘tributary’ and ‘wetlands’ to narrow federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
* Exclusions include certain ditches, prior converted cropland, waste treatment systems, and groundwater for the first time.
*The rule aims to balance environmental protections with state and tribal authority, incorporating feedback from public listening sessions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army released a proposed waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule this week, outlining a more “clear, durable, common-sense” definition of federally regulated waters under the Clean Water Act. The proposal follows the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision and reflects the Trump Administration’s policy direction.
Announced at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., the proposal defines key terms—such as “relatively permanent,” “continuous surface connection,” and “tributary”—to narrow federal jurisdiction and provide more predictability for landowners. The rule also reaffirms that wetlands must be “indistinguishable from jurisdictional waters through a continuous surface connection,” meaning they must touch a jurisdictional water and hold surface water for a sufficient duration each year.
Other proposed revisions include exclusions for certain ditches, prior converted cropland, waste treatment systems, and—for the first time—groundwater. EPA said the rule incorporates regionally familiar terminology, such as “wet season,” to help determine whether waters qualify as WOTUS.
“When it comes to the definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ EPA has an important responsibility to protect water resources while setting clear and practical rules of the road that accelerate economic growth and opportunity,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in an EPA press release. “No longer should America’s landowners be forced to spend precious money hiring an attorney or consultant just to tell them whether a Water of the United States is on their property.”. Read the entire article online at https://www.stormwater.com/stormwater-management/groundwater/news/55330967/epa-army-propose-new-wotus-definition-aimed-at-clarity-and-regulatory-certainty?oly_enc_id=3386A0720501J4X
2. Upper Verde Watershed History Project Is Now Live! A Water History Timeline and StoryMap of the Upper Verde River Watershed is now accessible on the WRRC website. The Timeline and StoryMap highlight how the Upper Verde River watershed, including its landscapes and communities, has changed from ancient times to the present.
With funding from The Nature Conservancy and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, and in partnership with the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension, a WRRC research team conducted interviews, organized community workshops, collected archival materials, and engaged stakeholders to produce the StoryMap. The goal of this project was to create a community-informed understanding of key aspects of the Upper Verde Watershed, including shared memories, historical events, and geographical setting. The Water History Timeline traces the region’s story from early geological events to today’s water policies, while the StoryMap allows readers to explore different topics and points of interest pertinent to the social, geographical, and policy contexts of the watershed.
The project is part of the WRRC’s Water Research and Planning Innovations for Dryland Systems (Water RAPIDS) program. Since 2014, the Water RAPIDS program has been actively working with local, state, nonprofit, and federal partners on various projects. Through a flexible approach to water resources planning, the team seeks to strengthen local and regional economies while supporting the natural resources that contribute to quality of life. Building awareness about the relationship between natural resources and water use is foundational to their work in developing solutions that meet the needs of stakeholders and the environment.
See the water story and timeline of the Upper Verde River Watershed by logging on to https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dbd1bc951b7248448b84c1441aaf1ed9
This StoryMap highlights how the Upper Verde River watershed, including its landscapes and communities, has changed from ancient times to the present. As you scroll, you will find buttons that allow you to explore different topics and a map with points of interest pertinent to the social, geographical, and policy contexts of the watershed. There are also links to the references and methods used to develop this StoryMap. If you scroll beyond these, you will find a Water History Timeline that traces the region’s story from early geologic events to todays water policies.
Subjects you can click on • •
Del Rio Springs
Indigenous History
History of Peoples and Townships
Hydrology
Points of Interest Map
Methods, Authors & Citations
Literature Review Matrix …and more
To read more, go to https://wrrc.arizona.edu/news/upper-verde-watershed-history-project-now-live
3. Western States Face Unprecedented Energy, Water Demand Driven By AI Boom.At a conference of western governors in Arizona last week, the region’s energy future dominated the conversion as populations and the AI data center industry continue to grow and drive up demand.
It didn’t take long for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to bring up energy as he delivered his opening speech at the meeting.
“We knew that the need for electricity was going to increase across our country, but we just didn’t realize the scale, the scope, and the speed at which we would need it,” he said.
Cox, who chairs the Western Governors Association, said that energy is both a matter of national security and affordability for everyday Americans.
“We need to be able to move the energy, those electrons, from one place to another in a way that makes sure that it’s secure and that we can reduce the cost to our citizens who are struggling right now under the burden of rising prices and the cost of living all across this country,” Cox said.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered a similar message during his keynote speech, emphasizing the need for more energy to power the AI revolution.
“How do we make sure that we’ve got the power that we need to win the AI arms race against China?” he said.
Permitting Reform
Both Burgum and Cox said permitting reform is a key to solving that problem, because it will allow energy projects to come on line faster.
Cox said that is especially true in western states, where it can sometimes take a decade or more to build major transmission projects that crisscross federal and state lines.
“In states like Utah, where the federal government owns about two-thirds of the land in our state, it’s not just about energy production, although much of that production has to take place on federal lands, which we don’t control, so we need help there,” Cox said. “It’s also about transmission.”
Burgum said the Trump administration is already taking steps on its own to speed up some energy projects.
He claimed his team was able to complete an environmental review called an Environmental Impact Statement that usually takes years in under a month.
“I would put the 24-day EIS up against a stack of ones that took two years and ask any of you or ask any judge to say which one was the one that took 24 days,” Burgum said.
Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego has backed permitting reform before, and told the U.S. Hispanic Business Council it is needed to meet the country’s energy needs.
“So we need to have a very agnostic when it comes to energy, which means all forms of energy as fast as possible on the grid,” he said in September.
Cox said some solar projects are reliable enough to provide baseload, or a consistent power supply that can meet immediate demands.
“And so solar with batteries, though, is different than just plain solar. So base load matters, and we desperately need more base load,” he said.
Energy Isn’t Everything
At the meeting, Burgum reminded the panel that electricity generation isn’t the only problem posed by the AI revolution.
“We need water for these data centers as well for cooling,” he said.
Then Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, joked, “Or you can build your data centers in North Dakota because then you don’t need as much cooling.”
The western governors agreed with that assessment, but gave no indication at the meeting that they are close to resolving the ongoing water stalemate between Upper and Lower Basin states over Colorado River water. Source: KJZZ Nov.24, 2025
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5. Astroshed Activities
Thursday, December 4
The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit, at 6:07 A.M. EST, when it stands 221,806 miles (356,962 kilometers) away. Some 12 hours later, Full Moon occurs at 6:14 P.M. EST, bringing us the December Cold Moon.
Because this Full Moon occurs when the Moon is near its closest point to Earth, it is classified as a Super Moon, closing out the year as the third in a series of four Super Moons that began in October. According to the late astronomer Fred Espenak’s AstroPixels website, the next Super Moon will be January 3, 2026, followed by a lull until November 2026. (Note, however, that the definition of Super Moon can differ between resources; for example, the Royal Observatories Greenwich doesn’t consider January or November 2026’s Full Moons close enough to Earth to be called Super Moons. Instead, this institution classifies December 2026’s Full Moon as the next Super Moon after today.)
With the Moon so big and bright in the sky, it makes for a prime target with a telescope. Look toward Luna’s western edge for the dark, round spot of the crater Grimaldi. Spanning some 107 miles (173 km) and sinking 1.7 miles (2.7 km) deep, Grimaldi appears at first glance to have a flat, dark floor of uniform gray. But look closer, and you’ll notice color variations in the shading, as well as streaks of lighter ejecta thrown across the crater by later impacts. Also compare Grimaldi’s smooth floor to that of Riccioli to its east. The latter’s floor is much rougher, as it is too far from Oceanus Procellarum to have been flooded with lava from this source.
Sunrise: 7:06 A.M. Moonrise: 4:03 P.M
Sunset: 4:34 P.M. Moonset: 6:57 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full
Friday, December 5
Our view of Mercury has continued to improve over the past few days. Rising almost two hours before the Sun, the little planet appears 7° high an hour before sunrise in the east. It shines at magnitude –0.3, an easy-to-find naked-eye object in the slowly brightening sky. Through a telescope, its disk now appears 54 percent lit, a bigger chunk receiving sunlight compared to earlier in the week and a tidy explanation for its increase in brightness.
Mercury will reach its greatest elongation west of the Sun in just two days, when it will stand 21° from Earth.
Bright Venus (magnitude –3.9) chases Mercury up into the predawn sky, now rising about 30 minutes before the Sun. There’s a brief opportunity to view it, but only if your horizon is clear. Venus is still 99 percent lit and virtually indistinguishable from a full phase. Source: astronomy.com
6. Is The Name Of The Bird Related To Turkey The Country? Why does a quintessentially American bird share its name with a country half a world away?
Every year on Thanksgiving, we sit down to share a meal with family, friends, and loved ones in the spirit of gratitude and abundance. The star of the meal, if you are ac carnivore, is a roasted turkey. If you’re the curious sort, you may have wondered if the name of the poultry on your Thanksgiving dinner table is related to the name of Turkey, the country.
The answer is yes, but only because the bird resembles a guinea fowl. This requires an explanation.
Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are native to the Eastern and Southwestern United States and Mexico. The Maya of what is now southern Mexico domesticated them about 2,000 years ago — the birds were called huehxōlō-tl in Nahuatl. In the early 16th century, Spanish explorers in the Americas took turkeys to Europe, where, after breeding, they became farm animals (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus), raised for food.
This is where the naming gets a little complicated. In the 16th century, Portuguese traders exported the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), a native species of sub-Saharan Africa, to European countries through the Ottoman Empire. Europeans called it the turkey-cock or turkey-hen because it came from the Turks. When a similar-looking fowl was sent to Europe from the Americas around the same time, it was called a turkey. But neither the guinea fowl nor the turkey is native to Turkey. Source: Word Smarts
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