Judge Blocks EPA’s WOTUS Rule In 24 More States

Last week, a federal judge in North Dakota temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in 24 states, pending the outcome of a lawsuit that is now before the Supreme Court that claims the regulations constitute federal overreach and unfairly burden farmers and ranchers. (The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision in that case later this year.)

As a reminder, the WOTUS rule went into effect in all but two states, Texas and Idaho, on Monday, March 20. The WOTUS rule governs the country’s wetlands and waterways by defining which waters get federal protections that would require businesses to obtain a permit for activities like construction that could damage water quality — and which do not.

The final rule, which now is only effect in less than half of U.S. states, restored the standard that was in place prior to 2015 under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for traditional navigable waters, territorial seas, interstate waters, and upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters.

MSCI opposes the most recent iteration of this rule. Industry and property rights advocates have argued the Biden administration’s decision to issue a new rule prior to the Supreme Court’s decision only confused things for stakeholders and made business hiring and investment more difficult.

Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots as the legal challenges to WOTUS continue.