A federal court granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday against the Biden administration’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule that extends the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory authority.
The new rule, which defines what “navigable waters” are subject to government regulation under the Clean Water Act, allowed the EPA to claim regulatory authority over lands containing small streams and wetlands. District of North Dakota Judge Daniel Hovland granted 24 states who sued the EPA over the rule in February a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, finding they have “persuasively shown that the new 2023 Rule poses a threat to their sovereign rights and amounts to irreparable harm.”
“The States involved in this litigation will expend unrecoverable resources complying with a rule unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny,” the court found.
BREAKING: The Court has granted our motion for preliminary injunction halting President Biden’s unconstitutional WOTUS rule. His interpretation of WOTUS is nothing more than a land grab usurping the rights of Missouri farmers to control their property.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) April 12, 2023
Hovland also stated that the rule appears to “directly” affect landowners who are now “potentially subject to federal jurisdiction and permitting requirements,” forcing them to “undertake expensive assessments or forego their activities.” He noted the “dire need” for clarification on what constitutes a navigable water, holding out hope that the the Supreme Court’s pending decision in Sackett v. EPA will settle the issue.
A huge win for Indiana! The District Court for North Dakota granted us a preliminary injunction for our multi-state lawsuit challenging the new WOTUS rule. Now, the overreaching rule can’t be implemented or enforced in our state. Read the decision here: https://t.co/9B90EvuqaU
— Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) April 12, 2023
“Until then, every state will continue to swim in waters of uncertainty, ambiguity, and chaos,” Hovland wrote.
Last week, President Biden vetoed a bipartisan bill designed to overturn the new rule. Republicans have criticized the rule for the burden it places on farmers and landowners.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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