Judge restores WOTUS rule in 26 states

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated administrative legal requirements when it delayed the start of the Obama administration's Waters of the U.S. rule by two years — a move that means the rule will now go into effect for about half the country. The judge said EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers had unlawfully declined to consider any comments addressing substantive issues related to WOTUS or an earlier 1982 version when it proposed delaying the rule to give the agencies more time to repeal and replace it.That was a fatal flaw, ruled Judge David Norton of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina, a George H.W. Bush appointee. Delaying the WOTUS rule has the effect of reverting to the 1982 rule, he wrote.Norton's injunction means the Obama-era rule will take effect in 26 states. The other 24 are covered by two different injunctions, one issued to 13 states in 2013 and one issued to another 11 states in June.However, WOTUS may be blocked nationwide again if the rule's opponents get their way. In another WOTUS lawsuit in a federal court in Texas, three states in February asked for a nationwide injunction of WOTUS. That court has yet to decide on the matter.