Opinion of the Court
Fed. Reg. 3143. So are any “[i]ntrastate lakes and ponds, streams, or wetlands” that either have a continuous surface connection to categorically included waters or have a significant nexus to interstate or traditional navigable waters. Id., at 3006, 3143. Like the post-Rapanos guidance, the rule states that a significant nexus requires consideration of a list of open-ended factors. 88 Fed. Reg. 3006, 3144. Finally, the rule returns to the broad pre-2020 definition of “adjacent.” Ibid.; see supra, at 7. Acknowledging that “[f]ield work is often necessary to confirm the presence of a wetland” under these definitions, the rule instructs local agents to continue using the Corps’ Wetlands Delineation Manual. 88 Fed. Reg. 3117.
B
With the benefit of a half century of practice under the CWA, it is worth taking stock of where things stand. The agencies maintain that the significant-nexus test has been and remains sufficient to establish jurisdiction over “adjacent” wetlands. And by the EPA’s own admission, “almost all waters and wetlands” are potentially susceptible to regulation under that test. 80 Fed. Reg. 37056. This puts many property owners in a precarious position because it is “often difficult to determine whether a particular piece of property contains waters of the United States.” Hawkes Co., 578 U. S., at 594; see 40 CFR §230.3(t) (2008). Even if a property appears dry, application of the guidance in a complicated manual ultimately decides whether it contains wetlands. See 88 Fed. Reg. 3117; Wetlands Delineation Manual 84–85 (describing “not … atypical” examples of wetlands that periodically lack wetlands indicators); see also Hawkes Co. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 782 F. 3d 994, 1003 (CA8 2015) (Kelly, J., concurring) (“This is a unique aspect of the CWA; most laws do not require the hiring of expert consultants to determine if they even apply to you or your property”). And because the CWA can sweep
