Court blocks EPA’s attempt to regulate small bodies of water

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the regulations in May after two Supreme Court rulings left uncertain which waterways can be protected under the Clean Water Act.

In coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA in May issued the rule, which is estimated to put about 3% more waterways throughout the US under new federal jurisdiction. It was nearly immediately stayed in 13 mostly western states. “Farmers and ranchers can not afford to wait”, he added. “We have said from the beginning that this new rule does not pass legal muster, and had it been allowed to remain in effect, homeowners, farmers and a host of other entities across our state would have found themselves subject to a costly regime of new, complicated federal regulations”. “This is great news for cattlemen and women and all land users who have been at a loss as to how to interpret this rule”, said NCBA president Philip Ellis.

North Dakota was joined by another 12 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming.

“In addition, the ruling called EPA’s rulemaking process “facially suspect” because it did not include any proposed distance limitations in its use of terms like “adjacent waters” and significant nexus”.

The Hill described the ruling Friday as “a stinging defeat to Obama’s most ambitious effort to keep streams and wetlands clean, saying it looks likely that the rule, dubbed Waters of the United States, is illegal”.

A federal court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to stop enforcement nationwide of the waters of the United States rule.

“In halting implementation of the Waters of the USA regulation nationwide, the Sixth Circuit made the right decision today”. “A stay honors the policy of cooperative federalism that informs the Clean Water Act and must attend the shared responsibility for safeguarding the nation’s waters”.

“The court’s decision is obviously disappointing”, said Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said: “The Sixth Circuit’s decision to issue a nationwide injunction ensures landowners, farmers and ranchers as well as energy workers throughout the country are spared the devastating consequences of this Rule”.

“Today’s ruling sends a strong message to the EPA that it has for too long ignored the voice and legitimate concerns raised by those directly impacted by the expanded definition of WOTUS and mounting overregulation on hardworking Americans. “. “Unfortunately, we also know stays don’t last forever, and cases like this nearly always take years to win”. The bill would direct EPA to halt the implementation of the WOTUS rule and also establish a process to address gaps in the flawed science that was used to define waters that come under the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction.