WOTUS Developments

Overview

The “Water of the United States” (WOTUS) rule has caused a considerable amount of controversy in agriculture for many years.  In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court had a chance to add clarity to the matter, but managed to “muddy the waters” instead – rendering a split 4-1-4 decision.  In subsequent years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to exploit that lack of clarity by expanding the regulatory definition of a WOTUS. 

The WOTUS issue is a very important issue for agricultural and rural landowners, and the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to hear another case involving the issue at the present time. 

So, what is the present status of the WOTUS matter?  There have been many twists and turns in recent years  Today’s post sorts out the significant recent developments

The WOTUS rule recent developments – that’s the topic of today’s post.

Background

The Clean Water Act makes illegal the discharging of dredge or fill material into the “navigable waters of the United States” without first obtaining a permit from the Secretary of the Army acting through the Corps of Engineers (COE). In March of 2014, the EPA and the COE released a proposed rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in a manner that would significantly expand the agencies’ regulatory jurisdiction under the CWA. Under the proposed rule, the CWA would apply to all waters which have been or ever could be used in interstate commerce as well as all interstate waters and wetlands. In addition, the proposed WOTUS rule specifies that the agencies’ jurisdiction would apply to all “tributaries” of interstate waters and all waters and wetlands “adjacent” to such interstate waters. The agencies also asserted in the proposed rule that their jurisdiction applies to all waters or wetlands with a “significant nexus” to interstate waters.

Under the proposed rule, “tributaries” is broadly defined to include natural or man-made waters, wetlands, lakes, ponds, canals, streams and ditches if they contribute flow directly or indirectly to interstate waters irrespective of whether these waterways continuously exist or have any nexus to traditional “waters of the United States.” The proposed rule defines “adjacent” expansively to include “bordering, contiguous or neighboring waters.” Thus, all waters and wetlands within the same riparian area of flood plain of interstate waters would be “adjacent” waters subject to CWA regulation. “Similarly situated” waters are evaluated as a “single landscape unit” allowing the agencies to regulate an entire watershed if one body of water within it has a “significant nexus” to interstate waters. The proposed rule became effective as a final rule on August 28, 2015 in 37 states.

Recent Case

In a recent case, Georgia v. Pruitt, No. 2:15-cv-79, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97223 (S.D. Ga. Jun. 8, 2018), the plaintiffs claimed that the WOTUS rule, implemented in 2015, violates the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, and the Tenth Amendment.  The plaintiffs sought an injunction preventing the rule from being implemented in 11 states pending a full hearing on the merits. To receive the injunction, the plaintiffs had to prove that they would (1) likely succeed on the merits; (2) be irreparably harmed; (3) sustain more potential injury than the defendant would be harmed; and (4) establish that the injunction is not contrary to the public interest. The court determined that the plaintiffs had met the standards for all four requirements. As for success on the merits, the court determined that the WOTUS rule would not likely be upheld under the U.S. Supreme Court standard set forth in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006), and was random and impulsive. The court also determined that the irreparable harm standard had been satisfied given the increase in federal jurisdiction of “wetlands” under the rule which overstepped states’ rights and had the potential to impose substantial monetary harm on affected landowners. As for the balancing of the equities, the court determined that the loss of state rights and the increased potential for monetary damages outweighed the harm to the government in complying with an injunction. The court also reasoned that entering an injunction would not violate public policy because the WOTUS rule may be an be an unenforceable rule as inconsistent with prior court rulings concerning the scope of the government’s jurisdiction over wetlands. Accordingly, the court entered a preliminary injunction. 

The court’s order of preliminary injunction prevented the WOTUS rule from being implemented in 11 states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. A prior decision by the North Dakota federal district court had blocked the rule from taking effect in 13 states – AK, AZ, AR, CO, ID, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, ND, SD and WY. North Dakota v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, No. 3:15-cv-59 (D. N.D. May 24, 2016).

The Sixth Circuit Litigation and the Jurisdiction Issue

On October 9, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a nationwide injunction barring the rule from being enforced anywhere in the U.S. Ohio, et al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et al., 803 F.3d 804 (6th Cir. 2015). Over 20 lawsuits had been filed at the federal district court level. On February 22, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that it had jurisdiction to hear the challenges to the final rule, siding with the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the CWA gives the circuit courts exclusive jurisdiction on the matter. The court determined that the final rule is a limitation on the manner in which the EPA regulates pollutant discharges under CWA Sec. 509(b)(1)(E), the provision addressing the issuance of denial of CWA permits (codified at 33 U.S.C. §1369(b)(1)(E)). That statute, the court reasoned, has been expansively interpreted by numerous courts and the practical application of the final rule, the court noted, is that it impacts permitting requirements. As such, the court had jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The court also cited the Sixth Circuit’s own precedent on the matter in National Cotton Council of America v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 553 F.3d 927 (6th Cir. 2009) for supporting its holding that it had jurisdiction to decide the dispute. Murray Energy Corp. v. United States, Department of Defense, No. 15-3751, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3031 (6th Cir Feb. 22, 2016). 

In January of 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the Sixth Circuit’s decision. National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, et al., 137 S. Ct. 811 (2017). About a month later, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the EPA and the COE to revisit the Clean Water Rule and change their interpretation of waters subject to federal jurisdiction such that it only applied to waters that were truly navigable – the approach taken by Justice Scalia in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006). The EPA and Corps later indicated they would follow the President’s suggested approach, and would push the effective date of the revised Clean Water Rule to two years after its finalization and publication in the Federal Register. In November of 2017, the EPA issued a proposed rule delaying the effective date of the WOTUS rule until 2020.

In January of 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that jurisdiction over challenges to the WOTUS rule was in the federal district courts, reversing the Sixth Circuit’s opinion. National Association of Manufacturer’s v. Department of Defense, No. 16-299, 2018 U.S. LEXIS 761 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Jan. 22, 2018). The Court determined that the plain language of the Clean Water Act (CWA) gives authority over CWA challenges to the federal district courts, with seven exceptions none of which applied to the WOTUS rule. In particular, the WOTUS rule neither established an “effluent limitation” nor resulted in the issuance of a permit denial. While the Court noted that it would be more efficient to have the appellate courts hear challenges to the rule, the court held that the statute would have to be rewritten to achieve that result. Consequently, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the Sixth Circuit, with instructions to dismiss all of the WOTUS petitioners currently before the court. Once the case was dismissed, the nationwide stay of the WOTUS rule that the court entered in 2015 was removed, and the injunction against the implementation of the WOTUS rule entered by the North Dakota court was reinstated in those 13 states. Thus, given the June 2018 by the Georgia court, an injunction is presently in place in 24 states against the implementation of the rule. Another case against the WOTUS rule is currently pending in a Texas federal court.

2018 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Most recently, as directed by President Trump, the (COE) and the EPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. The proposed rule seeks to “clarify, supplement and seek additional comment on” the 2017 congressional attempt to repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule.  If the rule is repealed, the prior regulations defining a WOTUS will become the law again. The agencies are seeking additional comments on the proposed rulemaking via the supplemental notice. The comment period is open through August 13, 2018. Comments can be submitted by accessing the page at the following link: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203. COE/EPA, “Waters of the United States"– Reinstatement of Preexisting Rules, No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203 (Jul. 12, 2018).

Conclusion

For those interested in the WOTUS issue, it may certainly be worthwhile to submit a comment to the EPA by the August 13 deadline.  We will have to wait and see what happens to the definition of a WOTUS over the coming months.  It’s a big issue for agriculture.