Mealey's (June 18, 2015, 1:17 PM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on May 27 finalized the federal Clean Water Rule.

The EPA said the rule protects streams and wetlands from pollution and degradation by precisely defining tributaries. It said the rule will make water permitting less costly, easier and faster for business and industry.

The EPA said the rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions....