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Farm Bureau encouraged by North Dakota WOTUS decision

Wednesday’s preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule is being praised by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Government Affairs Director Courtney Briggs says, “It’s a huge win for farmers.”

Briggs tells Brownfield they’ve been troubled by this administration’s WOTUS definition, and the injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland provides relief to farmers in 22 more states and, “One of the good things about the issuing of the preliminary injunction is that now, two judges have declared that there is a likelihood of success on the merits, so they believe that there is a likelihood that we are going to win when challenging the rule.”

A Texas judge recently enjoined a separate injunction blocking the Biden WOTUS rule in Texas and Idaho.  Briggs says 26 states are now blocked from enforcing the rule, but the other 24 are still bound by it. “Many work across state lines and you could be in a situation where you’re under one regulatory definition in one state and a different one in another.”

She says it’s hard to say how long it will take to have a nationwide decision, but the Supreme Court could soon rule on the Sackett versus EPA case, settling the issue.

States, where the Biden administration WOTUS rule was blocked by Judge Hovland’s injunction, include:

West Virginia, North Dakota, Georgia, Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana,

Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.