Texas Judge Grants Injunction Against Biden’s ‘Waters of the United States’ Rule in Texas, Idaho

Texas Judge Grants Injunction Against Biden’s ‘Waters of the United States’ Rule in Texas, Idaho
A sign of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seen at its building in Washington on Sept. 21, 2017. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo
Jana J. Pruet
Updated:
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A Texas federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration’s “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule in the state of Texas.

Federal Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Sunday granted the motion for injunctive relief in response to a lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in January. (pdf)

In late December, the federal agency announced its revised definition of WOTUS, prompting Paxton’s lawsuit.

“Under the WOTUS rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (‘EPA’) and the U.S. Department of Army are seeking to grow federal administrative power by expanding limits of their own jurisdiction far beyond what Congress delegated to them,” Paxton wrote in a press release in January announcing the lawsuit. “By design, Congress expressly limited their jurisdiction to ‘navigable waters.’”
On Jan. 18, the new rule was published in the Federal Register with an effective date of March 20, 2023.

“The final rule advances the objective of the Clean Water Act and ensures critical protections for the nation’s vital water resources, which support public health, environmental protection, agricultural activity, and economic growth across the United States,” the website states.

Brown’s decision came one day before the new rule took effect.

The injunction will remain in place, pending further orders from the court. It also applies to the state of Idaho.

Waters of the United States

The 1972 Clean Water Act, passed as an amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, granted federal jurisdiction over navigable waters, defined in the rule as “waters of the United States.”

The revised WOTUS rule would broaden the “navigable waters” definition beyond territorial seas and intrastate waters to include isolated wetlands, lakes, streams, and off-channel reservoirs.

It would also allow the agencies to impose expensive permitting processes disrupting the state’s management of its own energy, agriculture, and transportation infrastructure, Paxton explained in a press release.

The new WOTUS rule seeks to “vastly expand the federal government’s regulatory power to include much of America’s waters, despite Congress expressly narrowing federal authority to only ‘navigable waters,’” according to court documents.

In 2019, a U.S. District Court ruled that a similar Obama-era rule expanding EPA regulations was unlawful.

At least 25 other states are challenging the rule in federal courts in North Dakota and Kentucky. (pdf), (pdf)

Preliminary injunctions have yet to be granted in those cases.

Jana J. Pruet
Jana J. Pruet
Author
Jana J. Pruet is an award-winning investigative journalist. She covers news in Texas with a focus on politics, energy, and crime. She has reported for many media outlets over the years, including Reuters, The Dallas Morning News, and TheBlaze, among others. She has a journalism degree from Southern Methodist University. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
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