24 Republican AGs Sue Biden Admin Over Water Rule

Lawsuit asserts government overreaches with new rule

Water falls from a drip irrigation system in a vineyard managed by Mike Stearns near Firebaugh, Calif. on Feb. 25, 2016. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

A coalition of 24 Republican state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 15 against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), asking the court to declare unlawful a rule the agencies developed that will determine which water resources receive federal protection.

Specifically, the rule, announced on Dec. 30 and scheduled to go into effect on March 20, defines wetlands and waterways that are Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and receive protection under that designation.

The EPA issued said in a statement that the rule “restores essential water protections that were in place before 2015 under the Clean Water Act.”

The AGs contend that the Biden administration rule is vague and holds the potential to unnecessarily harm the livelihood of those whose work involves land and water stewardship and development, including farmers, builders, and ranchers.

Marion Kujawa looks over a pond he uses to water the cattle on his farm on July 16 in Ashley, Ill. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The AGs argue that the rule places undue restrictions on what people are permitted to do with their homes and residential properties.

The EPA maintains that the rule is a reasonable and workable compromise between the Obama era, during which the federal government expanded water protections and regulations, and the Trump administration, which rolled back those controls.

Of consequence to the AGs lawsuit and the status of the water rule is a case that the U.S. Supreme Court may soon decide involving a married couple and their 15-year battle with the federal government to build a home on a half-acre patch of land alongside a lake in the Idaho wilderness.

How the conservative Supreme Court decides could dramatically change the scope and authority of the Clean Water Act, established in 1972.

The attorneys general are not waiting for the Supreme Court and seek to limit federal government powers and jurisdiction.

The AGs argue that if the new rule goes into effect, “then ranchers, farmers, miners, homebuilders, and other landowners across the country will struggle to undertake even the simplest of activities on their own property without fear of drawing the ire of the federal government.”

Mike Hilgers, attorney general of Nebraska, the third highest agricultural-producing state in the country, said in a statement that the rule is “flawed and unlawful” and “will affect farmers who may need to get permission from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to fill or dredge wetlands or waterways, depending on whether those features fall under the federal government’s purview.”

Joining Hilgers in the lawsuit are the attorneys generals of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.