On Aug. 27, 2015, a federal district judge in North Dakota issued an order delaying the effective date of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s and the Army Corps of Engineers’ rule defining what waters they can regulate under the Clean Water Act.
According to a press release from the North Dakota attorney general’s office:
In today’s order, Judge Erickson agreed that the rule should be delayed during the ongoing litigation, stating “the states are likely to succeed on their claim because (1) it appears likely that the EPA has violated its Congressional grant of authority in its promulgation of the Rule at issue and (2) it appears likely the EPA failed to comply with APA [Administrative Procedure Act] requirements when promulgating the Rule.”
This order is timely because the rule was to go into effect on August 28, 2015.
The lawsuit was brought by Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the New Mexico State Engineer. It isn’t clear as of now whether the injunction applies beyond these states.
This decision is a certainly a good sign and confirms what critics of the rule have been saying: The rule goes way too far, and the process was seriously flawed.
Congress has still not passed a law to block the rule, which is shocking, given how much concern many legislators have expressed regarding the rule. They already have wide support for killing the rule. This decision should help make the case for legislation to kill the rule even stronger.
