The District Court for North Dakota on Wednesday granted Indiana and 23 other states a preliminary injunction that stops the EPA’s recently revised “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule from being implemented.
This injunction was granted following a lawsuit that was filed by 24 state attorneys general seeking to overturn the WOTUS definition, which was modified by the EPA in late 2022 and took effect on March 20. A district judge in Texas had already blocked the rule from taking effect in Texas and Idaho.
Farmers and landowners can be fined or threatened with jail time if the EPA or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds that they are in violation of the WOTUS rule, which was first established to regulate ‘navigable bodies of water’, but has since been extended to include ditches, drainages and low spots on farmlands and pastures.
In addition to Indiana, preliminary injunctions have been granted in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Earlier this month, President Biden vetoed a Congressional Review Act joint resolution that would have overturned the EPA’s WOTUS rule.
“Once again, the courts have affirmed that the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule is overreaching and harmful to America’s beef farmers and ranchers,” said Todd Wilkinson, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Cattle producers in 26 states now have some additional certainty while this rule is being litigated and we are optimistic that the Supreme Court will provide nationwide clarity on the federal government’s proper jurisdiction over water.”
A motion for a nationwide injunction is still pending in the North Dakota court.
The fate of WOTUS may ultimately lie with the U.S. Supreme Court once they hand down their decision in the Sackett v. EPA case. That decision is expected before the end of the Supreme Court’s current term, which will likely be in late June or early July.
