AFBF Asking Court To Block WOTUS

A coalition led by the American Farm Bureau Federation is asking a federal district court in Texas to issue a nationwide stay blocking WOTUS.  AFBF general counsel Ellen Steen said a stay is needed following a Supreme Court decision that ruled jurisdiction of the rule lies in federal district courts, not federal appeals courts, where a nationwide stay of the rule was issued in 2015.

“Unless something happens fast, we’re at risk of having that national stay that was in place go away very soon and the 2015 rule would go into effect, and would regulate potentially countless landscape features on farms around the country.”

The EPA is also taking steps to delay the rule while the agency reconsiders the regulations.  Steen said the parallel effort in the Texas court is needed because each step by the agency is being attacked in other courts.

“There are other stakeholders out there, that are fighting very hard to have the 2015 rule go into effect.  They argue that it’s important to protect water quality and drinking water and they use a lot of real emotional language.  But, what it’s really about is regulating more activities, including ordinary farm activities.”

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