The Biden administration’s new Waters of the U.S (WOTUS) rule continues to hit judicial roadblocks in its implementation. It is now blocked in 27 states after the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals on April 20 issued a stay on enforcing the rule in Kentucky until at least May 10. This is the latest in a series of legal blows against the revised WOTUS rule, which seeks to greatly expand the definition of “waters of the United States” and thus give further regulatory authority to the federal government over seasonal and ephemeral bodies of water.
A previous judicial ruling on March 19 blocked the new WOTUS rule in Idaho and Texas; another injunction against it in 24 additional states was put in place April 12.
Even as various lawsuits work their way through courts around the country, interested parties continue to keep a close eye on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA case, whose ruling is expected in early summer and has the potential to considerably limit the EPA’s regulatory authority, particularly regarding WOTUS.
