For those following environmental rules, our colleague, Phil Bower, reported this week about Monday’s Supreme Court decision on the 2015 Waters of the United States Rule (the “WOTUS Rule” or “Rule”). The Court unanimously held that challenges to the rule belong in a U.S. district court, not a court of appeals.
From Phil’s post on the Emerging Energy Insights blog: “The WOTUS Rule was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to clarify which waters and wetlands fall under federal jurisdiction. Numerous parties challenged the Rule in both federal district courts and circuit courts of appeals. The circuit court actions were consolidated in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 2016, the Sixth Circuit held that it had jurisdiction to hear petitions related to the legality of the Rule and issued a nationwide stay. This decision was appealed to the Supreme Court by industry groups who argued that, under the plain text of the Clean Water Act, the district courts were the proper jurisdiction.”