One of the Obama administration’s most unpopular regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Rule, also known as Waters of the United States (WOTUS), will be implemented as scheduled today, despite a federal judge in North Dakota issuing a temporary injunction requested by North Dakota and 12 other states.
EPA issued a statement saying they would implement the Clean Water Rule in all states except the 13 states covered by the injunction. “In light of the order, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers will continue to implement the prior regulation in the 13 states the filed the injunction,” the agency said. “In all other respects, the rule is effective on August 28. The agencies are evaluating these orders and considering next steps in the litigation.”
North Dakota, and the 12 other states including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming, requested the injunction to halt EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers from regulating small streams, tributaries, and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson in Fargo, who issued the temporary injunction, said that EPA had exceeded its authority in issuing the regulation. “On balance, the harms favor the states. The risk of irreparable harm to the states is both imminent and likely. More importantly, delaying the rule will cause the agencies no appreciable harm. Delaying implementation to allow a full and final resolution on the merits is in the best interest of the public,” Erickson wrote in granting the request from the 13 states.
The agriculture industry has been particularly concerned about the regulation, saying that it could apply to drainage ditches on farmland. The federal government says the new rule clarifies ambiguity in the law and actually makes it easier for the states to manage some waterways.
North Dakota Attorney General Stenehjem, along with attorneys general and officials from 30 other states, wrote to EPA and the Army Corps asking that the law be postponed at least nine months. Attorneys for the states said they received no reply and thus filed a request for the preliminary injunction.