Supreme Court Overturns Water Rule MSCI Opposed
In a 5-4 decision released last week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which the Metals Service Center Institute and its allies have opposed for years.
The court found the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers wrongfully claimed oversight of a private wetland that stood about 300 feet from Idaho’s Priest Lake. In doing so, the court ruled that Clean Water Act (CWA) protection only extends to wetlands “with a continuous surface connection” to larger regulated bodies of water.
The ruling concerned the Obama administration’s WOTUS rule, not a more recent one issued by the Biden administration. As Connecting the Dots reported at the time, on December 30, 2022, the EPA issued a final regulation that is different from the Obama standard.
Still, last week’s Supreme Court ruling could complicate the Biden administration’s legal defense of its new definition. In fact, according to Politico, the decision most likely will require the Biden administration to rework its regulation.
MSCI believes this decision will give much-needed regulatory certainty to manufacturers and other members of the business industry, which have been caught in legal limbo due to the unclear and changing WOTUS definition.
In other EPA-related news: in a 221-203 vote last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to overturn a Biden administration heavy-duty truck pollution regulation that aims to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by half by 2045. Opponents have argued the rule would result in higher costs for the industry and customers. The measure, which the Senate has approved, now heads to the White House where President Joe Biden is expected to veto it.
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