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Missouri AG thinks all states may see effects of WOTUS ruling

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says he believes the EPA might not enforce the federal Clean Water Rule in all 50 states, but, following a 13-state injunction, he does expect the EPA to fight the decision.

Koster says that whether the judge’s ruling effectively blocking Friday’s implementation of the rule is valid in only the 13 states originally part of the suit, or in all 50 states, is an open question.

He says he’s happy because Missouri is one of the 13 states covered by the ruling, but says he assumes the EPA will ask to have it reversed.

“My suspicion is that the EPA will not try to enforce this in other states,” Koster told Brownfield Ag News on Friday.  “I think that once cooler heads prevail, it will be a 50-state enjoinment, but right now I do understand they’re contesting it.”

Koster says the ruling sends a clear message to the federal government.

“We are pleased that a federal judge has stepped forward and said to the federal government that they are overstepping their bounds trying to regulate Missouri’s lands from Washington, D.C.,” said Koster, “and not here, by the Department of Natural Resources, which is where it should be done.”

AUDIO: Chris Koster (3 min. MP3)