EPA rejects Texas claim that new water rule leads to “regulatory uncertainty”

(UI) – The EPA has issued a statement addressing lawsuits from Texas and other states regarding the agency’s new clean water rules, according to BloombergLaw.

“Plaintiffs’ claims of harm are premised on either a complete disregard for the Rule’s similarity to the status quo they seek to maintain,” the Environmental Protection Agency said. The agency also claims that the “regulatory uncertainty” Texas says the new water rule asserts isn’t enough to establish a standing to sue.

Texas has requested that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issue a ruling against the Biden administration’s waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS). A similar rule has already been in effect since federal courts eliminated the Navigable Waters Protection Rule in 2020.

WOTUS works to give protective status to waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

In the lawsuit, Texas and other joining states claim that the new rule is “premature” because it was decided on before Sackett vs. EPA, a case concerning ways the EPA determines protective measures for certain bodies of water.

However, the EPA says that this claim is “the definition of conjecture.” In addition, a ruling in favor of the Texas lawsuit would only “unlock the door to party-specific relief” and wouldn’t mean a throwing out the rule completely.

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