U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) released the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ordered a nationwide stay on a rule drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers redefining “Waters of the United States”, also known as WOTUS. The rule, which was jointly proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, was determined by the court to have “ripple effects” that determined the best course of action was to maintain the status quo for the time being. ASA President Wade Cowan, a soybean farmer from Brownfield, Texas, commended the court for its decision and called on EPA to pull the rule and commit to working with farmers on more practical ways to meet the nation’s water quality goals.
Advertisement
“The WOTUS rule is vague and fails to let regulated parties know when their conduct violates the law”, Prestage said.
“But court battles take months, if not years – and come at a considerable cost”. Judges David W. McKeague and Richard Allen Griffin – both appointed by Republican President George W. Bush – said delaying implementation nationwide “temporarily silences the whirlwind of confusion that springs from uncertainty about the requirements of the new rule and whether they will survive legal testing”. Although he did not present oral arguments during the Sixth Circuit augments, Morrisey said that he has made oral arguments against the rule in other federal appellate courts. “This court’s decision is a step in the right direction, and I’ll continue to fight for legislation that reverses this rule and restores a few sanity to the permitting process in this country”.
Currently, the EPA’s oversight applies to all navigable waters.
Advertisement
The order, issued on a 2-1 vote from the Cincinnati-based Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was a preliminary boost for a group of 18 states that challenged the EPA regulation. The EPA contends Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 left 60 percent of the nation’s streams and millions of acres of wetlands without clear federal protection. Previously this power only applied to “navigable waters” like rivers and lakes.
