E&E NEWS: CLEAN WATER RULE: Judge puts WOTUS on ice in Texas, La., Miss.
A federal judge blocked implementation of the Obama-era Clean Water Rule yesterday in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Judge George Hanks Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled from the bench during a hearing on state and industry lawyers’ request to freeze the regulation, also known as the Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, rule.
The Obama rule, which defined which wetlands and waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act, was sidelined by the Trump administration earlier this year but revived in 26 states when a South Carolina court last month tossed the delay efforts.
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and several farm groups then asked the Texas court to halt the original rule. The Department of Justice also weighed in, asking the court to consider an injunction because the South Carolina ruling created a “regulatory patchwork” that “does not serve the public interest” (Greenwire, Aug. 24).
