AGRI-PULSE: Ag groups seek to have WOTUS declared unlawful
If the “waters of the United States” rule became law, it would “freeze up” the use of farmland as landowners try to determine “whether every minor drainage ditch, dry arroyo, and nearby puddle is covered by the Clean Water Act,” farm groups said in an amicus brief filed in federal court in North Dakota.
The American Farm Bureau Federation filed the brief along with 14 other industry groups, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its associated Public Lands Council, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council, and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
They joined 14 states asking the court to schedule oral arguments as soon as “practicable” and then declare the 2015 WOTUS rule unlawful. A preliminary injunction issued by the North Dakota court in 2015 remains in place, preventing implementation of WOTUS in 13 states – Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. (Iowa is separately supporting the states’ request as an intervenor.)
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have delayed implementation of the rule until 2020, an action that itself is being challenged in separate lawsuits from other states and environmental groups.
