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18 §1251(b). It is hard to see how the States’ role in regulating water resources would remain “primary” if the EPA had jurisdiction over anything defined by the presence of water. See County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 590 U. S. ___, ___ (2020) (slip op., at 7); Rapanos, 547 U. S., at 737 (plurality opinion).

Although the ordinary meaning of “waters” in §1362(7) might seem to exclude all wetlands, we do not view that provision in isolation. The meaning of a word “may only become evident when placed in context,” FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529 U. S. 120, 132 (2000), and statutory context shows that some wetlands qualify as “waters of the United States.”

In 1977, Congress amended the CWA and added §1344(g)(1), which authorizes States to apply to the EPA for permission to administer programs to issue permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into some bodies of water. In simplified terms, the provision specifies that state permitting programs may regulate discharges into (1) any waters of the United States, (2) except for traditional navigable waters, (3) “including wetlands adjacent thereto.”

When this convoluted formulation is parsed, it tells us that at least some wetlands must qualify as “waters of the