Ten states on the East and West Coasts sued the EPA for its decision to delay until 2020 a clean water rule issued during the Obama era, saying the suspension was hurried into effect “with inadequate public notice, insufficient record support and outside their statutory authority.” The original rule was a prominent part of President Trump’s campaign for regulatory relief.
The 2015 “Waters of the United States” rule, which spelled out the upstream reach of the clean water law, has been tied up in court since it was issued and never took effect. Farm groups said the so-called WOTUS rule intruded onto private property. The Trump administration intends to have its substitute for WOTUS in place by the end of this year.
“The Trump administration’s suspension of the clean water rule is clearly illegal, threatening New York’s decades-long efforts to ensure our residents have access to safe, healthy water,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Joining the lawsuit with New York were California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state, and the District of Columbia.
An estimated 117 million people, one-third of Americans, get all or some of their drinking water from the small and non-perennial streams and wetlands at issue in WOTUS.
To read the lawsuit, click here.