Executive Order 11990: Protection of wetlands
Summary
Executive Order 11990 directs federal agencies to avoid unnecessary destruction or modification of wetlands when carrying out their own activities or supporting covered construction. Jimmy Carter signed it on May 24, 1977. Its central test is whether there is a practicable alternative to new construction in wetlands and, if not, whether practicable harm-reduction measures are included. This is a rule for specified federal decisions. It should not be treated as a complete statement of the separate Clean Water Act permitting system.
Status: In effect. Yes. EO 11990 remains the presidential wetlands-protection framework, as amended by EO 12608. A June 2026 FEMA programmatic notice published by Tennessee's emergency-management agency expressly invokes it. Changes to the separate Federal Flood Risk Management Standard do not establish that the wetlands order was revoked.
Key facts at a glance
| Signed | May 24, 1977 |
|---|---|
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Federal Register | 42 FR 26961; published May 25, 1977 |
| Current label | In effect |
| Amended by | EO 12608 |
| Related orders | EO 11988, EO 12608, EO 11514 |
| Checked | October 25, 2026 |
What it requires today
Section 1 assigns agencies a leadership role in protecting the natural and beneficial values of wetlands when they acquire, manage or dispose of federal lands and facilities, support construction, or conduct covered activities affecting land use. Section 2 requires avoidance of new construction in wetlands unless the agency head finds no practicable alternative and includes all practicable measures to minimize resulting harm. Economic and environmental considerations can inform that finding; the order does not say that cost is the only factor.
The definition of new construction includes draining, dredging, channelizing, filling, diking and impounding, as well as buildings and other facilities begun or authorized after the order's effective date. Its wetland definition focuses on water conditions and the vegetation or aquatic life they support. A proposal may therefore raise wetlands issues without being described by its sponsor as a building project. Conversely, whether another statute regulates a particular parcel cannot be resolved solely by applying this executive-order definition.
Agencies must provide early public review, consider wetlands effects in budget and authorization requests, and adopt appropriate procedures. When federal wetlands property is conveyed, leased or made subject to an easement, agencies must address restricted uses, appropriate conditions or withholding the property from disposal. Review factors include water quality, flood hazards, erosion, habitat diversity, natural productivity and recreational, scientific and cultural uses. These are concrete decision considerations, rather than an instruction merely to mention wetlands in a document.
Who it affects
Federal agencies make the required decisions; recipients of covered federal construction assistance can encounter the resulting review and conditions. State, local and tribal governments and affected communities can participate through the relevant agency's procedures. Section 1(b) expressly excludes issuance of federal permits, licenses or allocations to private parties for wetlands activities on nonfederal property. That boundary does not make those activities unregulated: separate permitting statutes can still apply, and federal financing or a federal property interest presents a different coverage question.
How it came about
Carter issued the wetlands order together with EO 11988 on floodplain management. Both connect federal investment and property decisions to avoidance of environmental harm, but they are separate instruments. EO 11990 included transition provisions for construction already underway, specified previously funded projects and environmental-impact statements filed before October 1, 1977. Those historical exceptions explain initial implementation; they should not be transformed into a modern exemption for every project that has reached some planning stage.
What agencies did under it
FEMA's 44 CFR part 9 implements the two orders together for its programs. A June 26, 2026 programmatic notice published by Tennessee's emergency-management agency expressly identifies EO 11990 in FEMA's review of generator mitigation projects. It describes alternatives, effects, public notice and harm-reduction measures. This is specific evidence of implementation; it does not establish that every federal wetland project follows precisely that generator-review arrangement.
The newer Federal Flood Risk Management Standard had its own sequence of introduction, revocation and reinstatement. FEMA stopped implementing that standard in March 2025 after EO 14148. That announcement did not say that every duty under the older wetlands order disappeared. The distinction is visible in 2026 federal materials that continue to invoke EO 11990 while discussing removal of the newer flood-risk requirements.
HUD's July 10, 2026 proposal likewise discusses retaining the decisionmaking process implementing both older orders while changing the additional flood-risk standard. It is cited here as a proposal and evidence of the agency's stated approach, not as proof of an effective final regulation. A reader assessing an actual housing project needs the currently operative HUD rules and the project's environmental-review record. FEMA's procedures cannot automatically be substituted for HUD's simply because both cite the same presidential order.
Implementation records: HUD: proposed 2026 changes distinguish older duties and newer standard; FEMA floodplain management and wetlands regulations; TEMA: June 2026 FEMA programmatic wetlands review.
Amendments and family tree
EO 12608 amended section 6's procedural provisions in 1987. The current Federal Register disposition identifies that amendment and the relationship to EO 11514. The floodplain order, EO 11988, is a same-day companion, not a replacement. Later changes to CEQ regulations or the flood-risk standard need to be traced to their own text and agency implementation; their existence alone does not prove a whole-order revocation of EO 11990. No such revocation appears in the reviewed disposition and current implementing records.
Related guides: EO 11988.
Court cases
No court ruling specifically on EO 11990 was identified in the official order, disposition and agency sources reviewed as of October 25, 2026. A wetlands permitting decision under the Clean Water Act is not necessarily a ruling on this executive order. The source of authority, type of federal involvement and challenged agency action matter. No statutory jurisdiction ruling is treated here as a blanket repeal of the presidential wetlands-review framework.
Common questions
Does EO 11990 ban all construction in wetlands?
It requires avoidance where there is a practicable alternative. Where the agency head makes the necessary no-alternative finding, the proposed action must include all practicable measures to minimize harm. The order therefore establishes a qualified decision process rather than a categorical ban.
Does it replace a Clean Water Act permit?
No. The order and statutory permitting have different sources and coverage. Compliance with one does not by itself demonstrate compliance with the other, and the order expressly excludes a specified category of permits for private activities on nonfederal property.
What counts as new construction?
The order includes several physical modifications such as filling, draining and channelizing, alongside structures and facilities. An agency should examine the activity itself and its applicable procedures, rather than rely only on the project's name.
Can urgent life-saving work proceed?
Section 9 preserves the specified exclusion for emergency assistance essential to saving lives and protecting property, public health and safety. Routine or long-term recovery work is not automatically the same category merely because a disaster preceded it.
Legal basis
The preamble rests on presidential constitutional and statutory authority in furtherance of NEPA's policies. Implementation remains limited by the powers Congress has provided to the relevant agency. Section 10 also addresses specified community-development applicants that assume environmental-review responsibilities. These legal boundaries are important when deciding who makes a finding and which federal involvement triggers review.
Further reading
Sources
Cite this page
EO Explained, “Executive Order 11990: Protection of wetlands”, checked October 25, 2026. https://eoexplained.com/historic-orders/historic-11990-protection-of-wetlands. Include an access date when citing this dated account. For the presidential instrument itself, cite 42 FR 26961 and the official text.
Last checked
. EO 11990 was checked against its signed record, current disposition and cited implementation sources for the status and scope described above. Report an error or a later official source.