Washington Waves: Waterway News From D. C.

In a surprise move, President Donald Trump announced that assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle will serve as acting secretary of the Army “effective immediately.”

“He is a great patriot who is respected by all,” the president said on his Truth Social account.

Trump’s announcement came after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s abrupt resignation several days earlier. By tapping Telle as the acting Army secretary, the president bypassed Michael Obadal, the undersecretary of the Army.

It was not immediately clear how Telle’s appointment as acting Army secretary would impact the duties of the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

With a vote of 72 to 22, Telle won easy Senate confirmation to serve as the 14th assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

In addition to two decades of service in the Senate, Telle also led the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team during Trump’s first term.

Telle, a native of Alabama, entered his job in August 2025 with an unusual level of experience and knowledge of the issues handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised Trump’s selection of Telle for his new appointment.

“The president made an excellent choice in appointing him to serve as acting Secretary of the Army,” Wicker said. “Adam has been a fantastic partner as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. I am confident he will succeed in leading America’s Army.”

Marine Debris

The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) is scheduled to meet virtually September 29 to discuss federal marine debris activities with a particular emphasis on the topics identified in the supplemental information section under “matters to be considered.”

Set to begin at 2 p.m. EDT, the meeting will be held using Google Meet at the link https://meet.google.com/oag-dhas-pbs or phone at (US) +1 941-677-2861 PIN: 519 143 635#.

Attendance will be limited to the first 500 individuals to join the virtual meeting room.

Refer to the IMDCC website at https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/our-work/IMDCC for the most up-to-date information on the agenda and how to participate.

For additional information, contact Tacey Hicks at 707-217-2852 or tacey.hicks@noaa.gov.

Continuing Resolution

President Donald Trump signed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, to keep the government open and funded through December 11.One day earlier, the House voted 370 to 48 to give final congressional approval to the bill that had passed the Senate in August by a vote of 90 to 6.

For some, those two overwhelming roll call margins for the bill may mask just how remarkable the measure’s impact really is.

Not only does the bill allow lawmakers to avoid the routine scramble to get the government funded through the fiscal year deadline at midnight on September 30, but it also gets them through the mid-term elections on November 3, when voters will decide who controls both houses of Congress next year, and past the Thanksgiving break.

With government funding secured through early December, the House Republican leadership unexpectedly cancelled two weeks on their chamber’s floor schedule leading up to the midterm elections.

Now, instead of being in session the last two weeks of September as scheduled, the House has only four more days of floor action this month, despite what is viewed as a packed agenda with must-pass legislation along with other important bills.

Those measures include a biennial Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the 12 annual appropriations bills.

According to the new schedule, House members will be away from September 18 until November 9.

WOTUS Definition Additions

Two key federal agencies announced they are going back to the public for input on additional regulatory language to develop a “durable, final” definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS).

Issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, the regulatory language under the Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is to be considered alongside the WOTUS rule proposed in 2025.

In their joint announcement, the two lead agencies said it reflects their commitment to “radical transparency” that adheres to the Supreme Court’s direction in Sackett v. EPA, cuts bureaucratic red tape and protects water quality while recognizing that states and tribes are best positioned to manage their own water resources.

Once finalized, they said the rule will provide greater predictability for landowners, farmers, ranchers, energy producers, the technology sector, developers and small businesses.

“We look forward to public feedback on this supplemental notice, which will help strengthen the real-world expertise behind the final rule,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.

Adam Telle, acting secretary of the Army, said the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision delivered the certainty the nation has been seeking for decades, describing this step as one more to ensure the regulations adhere to that decision.

Once the supplemental proposal is published in the Federal Register, the agencies will accept public comments for 30 days.