U.S. Appeals Court Blocks EPA Water Rule Nationwide
WSJ
WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court on Friday issued a nationwide stay
blocking a new Environmental Protection Agency regulation that seeks to
expand the amount of water and wetlands under federal protection.
The Cincinnati-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit,
in a split ruling, said it was prudent to block the regulation while
litigation continued over whether the Obama administration's effort was
legal.
"A stay temporarily silences the whirlwind of confusion that springs from
uncertainty about the requirements of the new rule and whether they will
survive legal testing," the court said.
The court's order was a preliminary boost for a group of 18 states that
challenged the EPA regulation, which seeks to add smaller bodies of water
under federal water rules.
U.S. trial judges previously have reached conflicting conclusions on
whether the EPA's efforts should be put on hold.
One federal judge in August blocked the rule in 13 states that had
challenged it in a federal court in North Dakota, saying those states were
likely to succeed in their lawsuit against the regulation.
In coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA in May
issued the rule, which is estimated to put about 3% more waterways
throughout the U.S. under new federal jurisdiction. That would require a
federal permit to pollute those waters and could restrict access
altogether. Major waterways, like most rivers and lakes, are already under
protection of the Clean Water Act and aren't affected by the rule.
Critics, including lawmakers and business and farming groups, say the rule
amounts to a federal power grab of state rights.
The EPA has said the rule is necessary to clarify which waters should fall
under the protection of the federal Clean Water Act of 1972 after two
Supreme Court rulings, in 2001 and 2006, called into question whether and
to what extent 60% of U.S. waterways, especially streams and wetlands,
should fall under federal jurisdiction.
Companies apply for permits under the Clean Water Act for a host of
industrial activities, such as building roads, bridges and discharging of
waste material like sewage. The Corps of Engineers, which issues Clean
Water Act permits along with the EPA, says it approves tens of thousands of
such permits a year. EPA officials say farming activity wouldn't need a
permit based on an existing exemption.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-appeals-court-blocks-epa-water-rule-nationwide-1444400506
