A judicial panel has denied the federal government’s request to consolidate the dozen or so legal challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.
According to Reuters, complex jurisdictional questions made the cases unsuitable for consolidation.
Businesses, agricultural organizations like Texas Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation, states and other groups have filed suits against the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the groups from implementing the new water rule.
The water rule was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit late last week. The stay puts the EPA’s and Corps’ enforcement of the rule on hold until the legal system can determine who has jurisdiction in the lawsuits.
It’s unclear how long the court’s temporary stay will remain in effect.
Additional information on WOTUS can be found on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s site, http://ditchtherule.fb.org/.