DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds has successfully halted the enforcement of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule in Iowa. The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota granted the governor’s request to stop the rule on Tuesday.
“I am pleased the court granted my request to halt the WOTUS Rule in Iowa,” Gov. Reynolds said. “Now, Iowa farmers and small business owners will not be burdened by this federal overreach while we continue fighting to permanently end the WOTUS Rule.”
The court ordered the preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by Gov. Reynolds, 12 states and two agencies of a 13th state against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The WOTUS Rule is now on hold in 25 states.
“The EPA’s WOTUS Rule imposes unnecessary burdens on Iowans and interferes with our local and state solutions to improve Iowa’s water quality,” Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg said.
Lawsuit background
The lawsuit challenges the WOTUS Rule, which was adopted by the Obama Administration.
The rule went back into effect in Iowa in August 2018 when a federal court in South Carolina ruled the EPA could not suspend the WOTUS Rule. The court reinstated the rule in any state (like Iowa) where it had not yet been preliminarily enjoined.
Gov. Reynolds will continue to pursue the federal lawsuit in cooperation with other plaintiff states to permanently overturn the rule.
