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Court briefs filed in WOTUS lawsuit

Over twenty organizations including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council filed court briefs Tuesday to invalidate the Waters of the US rule by the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA.

NCBA Environmental Counsel Scott Yeager tells Brownfield Tuesday’s filing is the first briefs in the merits of the case.  “This brief is actually the meat of the lawsuit.  We’re asserting that the agency has violated the law in how they promulgated the WOTUS rule, and that specifically, it’s that they violated the Administrative Procedure Act.  They violated the Constitution by federal executive overreach with the rule.”  Yeager says their briefs also argue WOTUS violates the Interstate Commerce Act.

Public Lands Council Executive Director Ethan Lane tells Brownfield the court brief also details how the EPA inappropriately pressed the WOTUS case.  He says, “Whether it’s engaging in propaganda campaigns in support of the rule that far exceed what’s allowable by a federal agency, or lobbying against legislative efforts to stop the rule which the U.S. Government Accountability Office found was illegal, this is an unprecedented situation from a variety of different aspects.”

Yeager is optimistic they will eventually win, knowing implementation of WOTUS was stayed by a three-judge panel, which he says shows the rule is probably illegal. He has also asked the Supreme Court to determine if the case should be heard in US District Court or the Appeals Court.  The Counselor says, ““There’s two kind of concurrent things going on.  There’s a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals merits briefing, which just started with this opening brief, and at the same time, there may be potential Supreme Court review of the procedural issue of which court is the correct one to hear it in first, either the district court or the appellate court.”  Yeager says if the Supreme Court accepts the NCBA’s petition, it would hear oral arguments next spring.

Scott Yeager discusses WOTUS case brief filing with Brownfield’s Larry Lee

Public Lands Council Executive Director Ethan Lane discusses WOTUS case brief filing with Brownfield’s Larry Lee