Alexander: Appeals Court Is Right To Halt White House Overreach On Burdensome

“This process is just beginning, and I am committed to working with other attorneys general to make sure the WOTUS rule never takes effect”.

The McCrory Administration, along with 29 other states that filed legal complaints against the rule, insists the new definition is an illegal act of federal overreach. “But the bottom line is should the federal government have jurisdictions over run-off water, ditch water, things that don’t have any aquatic life, things that no humans use?”

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., in a statement, said: “Today’s court decision to follow North Dakota’s lead by providing relief from this unworkable rule for the rest of the country’s producers is an important step, but it’s not enough”. He says stopping the rule from going into effect during the pending litigation is a significant victory.

As StateImpact reported in May, when the EPA finalized the rule, it’s meant to clarify “which bodies of water qualify for federal protection – which ones are streams, which ones are tributaries, whether pollution dumped into one stream will trickle into another – that sort of thing”.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey praised the “team effort” of the coalition of “25 to 30 states” that opposed the rule in the federal courts. The stay is the latest of several attempts to derail many Obama administration environmental policies.

“Time and again the public has demonstrated that it overwhelmingly supports restoring these safeguards for the water our children and grandchildren drink, swim and play in”, said Madeleine Foote, legislative representative for the league.

“A federal court today ordered the EPA to stop enforcement nationwide of the Waters of the United States rule”.

31 states and state agencies challenged the legality of the rule, claiming it violates the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the U.S. Constitution. Blowback against the rule “comes amid years of complaints from Republicans about President Barack Obama’s regulatory agenda, which has encompassed everything from power plants and health insurers to Internet providers and for-profit colleges”, Jenny Hopkinson wrote earlier this year on Politico. And the judicial panel found that staying the rule would not “imminently injure” United States water quality.

Judge Damon J. Keith dissented, saying he wasn’t sure the court had jurisdiction to hear the case. (Credit: AP) Industry groups, states and environmentalists have argued to… Regardless, the EPA announced shortly afterward that it would continue to enforce the new rule in all other states.

More than 200 organizations and local municipalities have publicly declared their opposition to the proposed WOTUS rule. “We need legislation that requires an honest rulemaking from EPA”.