Phoenix – Attorney General Mark Brnovich is pleased to announce that yesterday, Federal District Court Judge Ralph Erickson issued an order in delaying the effective date of the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corp of Engineers’ “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) Rule in Arizona and 12 other states. The rule was originally scheduled to take effect today, August 28, 2015.
Arizona previously joined with 12 other states in a legal challenge asking the federal court to delay the effective date of the WOTUS Rule because of the irreparable harm it would cause the states.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich contends that the EPA’s expansion of federal authority over Arizona waters is unlawful and that the agency failed to follow their required procedures.
Attorney General Brnovich remarked, “Yesterday’s ruling is an important first step in preventing federal overreach under the guise of environmental protection. It is critical that states like Arizona and our state coalition partners continue to make principled stands against federal overreach and to preserve the rule of law.”
In support of the states’ claims that the EPA’s Final Rule harmed states’ interests, the State of Arizona offered testimony that the State would be irreparably harmed by the Final Rule due to the time, resources and increased costs necessary to comply with the rule’s dramatic increase in permitting requirements for the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The 13 states exempted for now are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.