Texas has successfully blocked the Biden administration’s “Clean Water Act” (CWA), the state’s attorney general announced.
On Monday, Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Twitter that a federal court blocked the administration’s attempt to repeal a Trump-era rule that protected natural water sources in the U.S.
Big victory against Biden: Last night a federal court blocked the Admin’s radical “waters of the US” rule, which imposes a leftist environmental agenda on Texas, crushing new regs, and oppressive economic costs. I will always fight to keep Biden’s boots off the necks of Texans! pic.twitter.com/zp2Wv17bhC
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 20, 2023
“Big victory against Biden: Last night a federal court blocked the Admin’s radical ‘waters of the US’ rule, which imposes a leftist environmental agenda on Texas, crushing new regs, and oppressive economic costs. I will always fight to keep Biden’s boots off the necks of Texans!” Paxton said.
Paxton previously filed a complaint in January against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleging that the recently introduced Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation is unlawful and would have detrimental effects on its residents.
“The Clean Water Act (“CWA”) requires federal permits to discharge pollutants into ‘navigable waters’,” the lawsuit states. “‘Navigable waters,’ in turn, is defined to mean ‘the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.’ Waters that do not fit into this definition are not within federal jurisdiction and may still be regulated by states and tribes.”
The lawsuit also claims that it undermines the states’ jurisdiction over water bodies and the surrounding land. The lawsuit specifically targets the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, which were responsible for approving the regulation.
“By this challenge, the Plaintiffs assert that by amending the definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ as provided in the Final Rule, the Federal Agencies unconstitutionally and impermissibly expand their own authority beyond Congress’s delegation in the CWA— intruding into state sovereignty and the liberties of the states and their citizens,” the lawsuit continues. “The Final Rule also lacks clarity, leaving those wishing to identify the ambit of federal power over dry land or minor water features at the mercy of an expensive, vague, and arbitrary analysis, lest they face a staggering criminal or civil penalty,” it continued.
The new rule, which was approved in December, would redefine which “waters of the United States” are federally protected under the CWA.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the regulation change “safeguards our nation’s waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects people’s health.”
