An 黑料不打烊-backed lawsuit has led the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota to issue a preliminary injunction of the Biden Administration鈥檚 2023 鈥淲aters of the United States鈥 (WOTUS) rule in 24 states (see below) on April 12. Adding to the two-state injunction the association secured from a Texas court as well as a preliminary injunction in Kentucky (黑料不打烊 of Kentucky joined the Chamber of Commerce on that case), the 2023 WOTUS rule is now temporarily blocked in over half the country: 27 states in all.
As a reminder, 黑料不打烊 of America and 17 other industry groups are a party to the North Dakota and Texas cases.
Some quick highlights from the 45-page order by the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota:
- 鈥淭he Court finds that the new 2023 Rule is neither understandable nor 鈥榠ntelligible,鈥 and its boundaries are unlimited.鈥 Page 19.
- 鈥淭he treatment of tributaries under the new 2023 Rule is suspect.鈥 Page 21.
- 鈥淭he Court notes that the treatment of wetlands is plagued with uncertainty.鈥 Id.
- The new 鈥渞elatively permanent standard鈥 test 鈥渋s far from understandable.鈥 Page 22.
- 鈥淭he EPA鈥檚 2023 Rule will require States, landowners, and countless other affected parties to undertake expensive compliance efforts when their property may implicate navigable waters in ill-defined ways. The phrase 鈥榳aters of the United States鈥, a term that has been hopelessly defined for decades, remains even more so under the 2023 Rule. It is doubtful Congress endorsed the current efforts to expand the limits of the Clean Water Act鈥 There is little that is intelligible about the 2023 Rule and the broad scope of its jurisdiction. The EPA鈥檚 interpretation of the 2023 Rule does not provide any clarity nor equate with an intelligible principle to which the States can easily conform.鈥 Pages 23-24.
- 鈥淭his Court agrees there are serious constitutional concerns triggered by the implementation of the EPA鈥檚 new 2023 Rule.鈥
黑料不打烊 (and its chapters) has secured injunctions in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In those states, the 1986/1988 regulatory definition of WOTUS is temporarily back in place, at least until the courts make a final decision on the legality of the rule.
黑料不打烊 will continue to fight for a nationwide injunction of the 2023 WOTUS rule, as President Biden recently vetoed the bipartisan bill to repeal the regulation. While there are not likely enough votes in Congress to override the veto, the bipartisan votes to repeal the rule in the House and Senate underscore 黑料不打烊鈥檚 legal argument that Congress did not grant the Administration statutory authority to put forth this sweeping regulation.
For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at Melinda.tomaino@agc.org.