State Attorney’s General are weighing in on the Waters of the U.S. Rule, as EPA and the Corp of Engineers begins the process of rewriting the language. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was one of the original AG’s that helped block WOTUS and so he’s hopeful that will result in a favorable rewrite that protect state’s rights.
Jackley says he’s closely watching the rewrite and if it doesn’t include ag exemptions or better define what navigable waters will be federally regulated, it will likely face another lawsuit by the AG’s.
Jackley led the group of AG’s that filed an injunction to stop WOTUS implementation. They claimed the definition of navigable water was too vague and nearly all waters would be regulated under the federal government.
He also suggests that Congress needs to establish WOTUS rules through law or they can be easily changed by the next EPA Administrator.
