DTN writer Todd Neeley reported earlier this week that, “The plaintiffs in one of several lawsuits challenging the Navigable Waters Protection Rule have asked a federal court to vacate the rule.
“In a motion for summary judgment filed at the end of last week, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League alleges the EPA’s new rule is ‘arbitrary, capricious and unlawful’ and asked the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to throw it out.
“Agriculture, petroleum and other interest groups have intervened in the case, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Petroleum Institute, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council and U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, among others.”
The DTN article stated that, “The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League alleged in its lawsuit in April that the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the rule based on ‘political winds and currents.’
“The rule, published in the Federal Register on April 21, is alleged by the groups to have the effect of ‘dramatically reducing the universe of waters protected’ by the Clean Water Act.
“In its motion for summary judgment, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League said the protection of the nation’s waters are at stake.”
