Today, United States District Judge, Jeffrey Vincent Brown ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt the implementation of the controversial Waters of the U.S. rule in both Idaho and Texas.
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall greatly praised the decision.
“The judge recognized the new rule likely oversteps EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act, which creates uncertainty for the farmers and ranchers who must navigate the complicated regulations...Farmers and ranchers share the goal of caring for the natural resources we’re entrusted with, but we need rules that don’t require a team of attorneys to interpret.”
An EPA Administrator says overturning the rule could bring unintended consequences. It would put the pre-2015 definition of WOTUS back into effect, removing the significant nexus standard as well as exemptions for artificial ponds for previously converted cropland.
