In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved forward with a final regulation to strengthen wetlands' protection. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers estimate that since a 1998 court ruling found that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not regulate "incidental fallback" (excavated material that falls back to substantially the same place as the initial removal), at least 20,000 wetland acres have been degraded or destroyed, and 150 miles of streams channelized without environmental review or mitigation. The "Tulloch Rule," signed by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, will help stem the loss of the nation's wetlands by clarifying the types of activities that are likely to result in a discharge of dredged material regulated under the CWA.