In Louisiana, the WOTUS rule and federal wetland permit requirements now reach a much narrower slice of property than they did before 2023. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA and the injunction that still applies in Louisiana, a federal Section 404 permit is required only when your project would fill or dredge a relatively permanent water body, or a wetland with a continuous surface connection to one. Isolated wetlands, ephemeral streams, and wet areas separated from navigable waters by dry land, roads, berms, or levees are no longer federally jurisdictional. Louisiana’s own Coastal Use Permit program still applies inside the coastal zone, and that is where most of the state’s remaining wetland regulation now lives.
When You Still Need a Federal Section 404 Permit
The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging dredged or fill material into “navigable waters” without a federal permit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 33 USC 1362 – Definitions After Sackett, decided May 25, 2023, that phrase reaches only relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water connected to traditional navigable waters, plus adjacent wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to those waters, making it difficult to tell where the water ends and the wetland begins.2Supreme Court of the United States. Sackett v EPA
Practically, that means a Section 404 permit is still required if your work will disturb:
- A river, lake, bayou, or stream that flows year-round or nearly so, or its bed.
- A wetland that sits directly against such a water body with no clear dividing line — the two must be essentially indistinguishable at the boundary.
- Traditional navigable waters, territorial seas, and interstate waters.
For qualifying work with minor impacts, a nationwide (general) permit may cover the activity with standard conditions and little delay. Larger or higher-impact projects need an individual Section 404 permit, which involves public notice and can take months.3U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Permit Program under CWA Section 404
What No Longer Requires a Federal Permit
The Sackett majority explicitly rejected the “significant nexus” test that federal agencies had used since 2006 to reach isolated water features with ecological links to downstream waters.2Supreme Court of the United States. Sackett v EPA Several categories that used to trigger federal permitting now fall outside it:
- Ephemeral and intermittent streams. Waterways that only flow after rainfall or during wet seasons are not “relatively permanent” and are not jurisdictional.
- Isolated wetlands. Wetlands separated from navigable waters by dry land, berms, levees, or roads lack the required continuous surface connection.
- Adjacent-but-disconnected wetlands. Wetlands near a river or lake still lose federal coverage if there is a clear visible boundary between the wetland and the water body.
Louisiana is one of 26 states where a federal court injunction blocked the January 2023 WOTUS rule, so the EPA and Army Corps apply the pre-2015 regulatory framework here, interpreted through Sackett.4U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Definition of Waters of the United States – Rule Status and Litigation Update The agencies also amended the 2023 rule on August 29, 2023 to strip out the significant nexus test, so the practical result in the other states is very similar.5U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Current Implementation of Waters of the United States
Louisiana’s State Coastal Use Permit Still Applies
Federal deregulation does not necessarily leave your project unregulated in Louisiana. The State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act established the Louisiana Coastal Resources Program and requires a Coastal Use Permit for activities within the Louisiana Coastal Zone. State law also requires compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts to vegetated wetlands.
Two limits matter for planning. First, the state permit program applies only within the designated coastal zone. Inland wetlands that lost federal coverage under Sackett may have limited or no regulatory protection unless Louisiana expands its state-level programs. Second, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are the resource most affected by this shift: the state holds roughly 3 million acres of coastal wetlands, about 40 percent of the wetlands in the continental United States, and they are disappearing at roughly 75 square kilometers per year.6U.S. Geological Survey. Louisiana Coastal Wetlands – A Resource At Risk
If your parcel sits inside the coastal zone, plan around the Coastal Use Permit even if no federal permit is required. If it sits inland and outside federal jurisdiction under Sackett, confirm that with the Corps before assuming you can proceed unregulated.
How to Confirm Whether Your Property Has Jurisdictional Waters
The Army Corps issues two kinds of jurisdictional determinations, and the difference matters.
An Approved Jurisdictional Determination is a binding, official finding that jurisdictional waters do or do not exist on your property, with mapped boundaries. It is valid for five years and can be administratively appealed or challenged in court.7U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Regulatory Guidance Letter No. 16-01 – Jurisdictional Determinations Only this type can definitively establish the presence or absence of jurisdictional waters on a parcel. If you want certainty before spending on design, engineering, or construction, this is the one to request.
A Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination, by contrast, is non-binding. It assumes jurisdiction exists without deciding the question, which can speed up permitting when you already plan to get a permit but leaves the underlying issue unresolved. You can request a fresh determination before the five-year expiration if site conditions change.8U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Jurisdictional Determination Process
Expect to hire an environmental consultant for a wetland delineation as part of this process. Professional fees for delineation work typically start around $3,500 and climb from there depending on site size and complexity.
What Happens If You Fill Without a Permit
Federal penalties are steep. The EPA can impose administrative penalties of up to $16,000 per day of violation, capped at $187,500 per enforcement action, and can pursue civil or criminal judicial action for knowingly or negligently filling jurisdictional waters without authorization.9U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Enforcement under CWA Section 404
Louisiana’s state coastal permit program carries much smaller consequences by comparison: fines between $100 and $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both. The gap explains why the federal question is usually what drives project planning, and why confirming that your property is genuinely outside federal jurisdiction is worth doing on paper rather than by assumption.
What’s Changing Next
The regulatory picture is not settled. On November 17, 2025, the EPA and the Army Corps announced a proposed rule titled “Updated Definition of Waters of the United States,” which the agencies describe as an attempt to establish “a clear, durable, common-sense definition.”10U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. EPA and the Army Announce Proposed Rule for Updated Definition of Waters of the United States The proposal was opened for a 45-day public comment period. Earlier in 2025, the agencies also established a public docket seeking recommendations from states, tribes, and stakeholders about their experience under prior WOTUS definitions.11Federal Register. WOTUS Notice – The Final Response to SCOTUS, Establishment of a Public Docket, Request for Recommendations
Until a new final rule takes effect, work in Louisiana under the Sackett “continuous surface connection” standard as applied through the pre-2015 framework. The WOTUS definition has changed five times in the last decade. When your project involves anything that looks like a wetland, stream, or seasonal water feature, request an Approved Jurisdictional Determination before breaking ground and check whether the parcel sits inside the state coastal zone. Those two checks together answer, for now, whether you need a permit and from whom.