A number of Louisiana lawmakers, including Republicans U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, issued statements today applauding a federal appeals court ruling that blocks an Obama administration rule attempting to clarify which small streams, wetlands and other waterways the government can shield from pollution and development.
The Associated Press reports that in a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati put the regulations on hold nationwide until the court decides whether it has jurisdiction to consider lawsuits against them. More than half the states have filed legal challenges, continuing a debate over federal water protection authority that two Supreme Court cases and extensive rulemaking efforts over the past 14 years have failed to resolve.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued their latest regulations in May, drawing fierce criticism from landowner groups and conservative lawmakers who described them as costly, confusing and a government power grab. Supporters said the regulations would safeguard drinking water for 117 million Americans while preserving wetlands that filter out pollutants, control floods and provide crucial wildlife habitat.
The EPA and the Corps said in a joint statement they respect the court’s decision and look forward to defending the rule, which they said “represents the agencies’ continuing commitment to protecting and restoring the nation’s water resources that are vital for our health, environment, and economy.”
Cassidy says in his statement the temporary hold comes as good news, but that the regulations need to be killed permanently.
“Louisiana is experiencing significant economic growth … This progress will be negatively affected as a result of this rule,” he says of the proposed regulations.
Likewise, Graves calls today’s ruling “the right legal decision and consistent with actions taken by Congress earlier this year.”
“The EPA cannot attempt to establish a definition of ‘waters’ that works for both a desert like Arizona and a state that drains much of the U.S. like Louisiana. We have fundamentally different hydrology,” Graves says in his statement.
Read the full story by The Associated Press.
