The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a nationwide stay of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waters of the United States” Rule, which was issued in May and intended to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act.
The Rule has been subject to numerous challenges throughout the country and, prior to the Sixth Circuit’s stay, had been stayed in thirteen states. The Sixth Circuit stated that “[a] stay temporarily silences the whirlwind of confusion that springs from uncertainty about the requirements of the new Rule and whether they will survive legal testing.”
Many questions remain, including whether federal district courts or appeals courts have jurisdiction over challenges to the Rule. We will continue to monitor the status of the Rule.
