South Dakota Joins in Filing Preliminary Injunction in Waters of the U.S. Case (WOTUS)
PIERRE, S.D – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that the State of South Dakota and all of the twelve states challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the Western Region have filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the Water of the United States (WOTUS) case.
“The EPA and Corps of Engineer’s failure to timely respond to the States’ request to delay the implementation of the Rule has unfortunately necessitated the need to seek further court intervention,” said Jackley. “Our concerns continue to be that these agencies are overstepping their Congressional authority and that our State will be losing considerable decision making control over our waters and land use. The new Rule is creating uncertainty for our agriculture and business community that needs to have fairness and a degree of common sense in federal regulation.”
The States are actively seeking postponement of the impending implementation of the WOTUS Rule while the courts have the opportunity to fully address the states’ concerns. On June 29, 2015, twelve states filed in federal district court in North Dakota asking the court to vacate the new rule and bar the EPA and the USACE from enforcing the new definition. Several other states have filed in their respective regions. The states contended the new definition of WOTUS violated provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the United States Constitution. Then on July 30, 2015, 31 states requested that the EPA and USACE delay the effective date of the new Rule defining “Waters of the United States” under the CWA. The Rule is currently set to go into effect on August 28, 2015. The States requested the Rule not be implemented for a period of at least nine months in order to give the courts time to review the legal challenges to the Rule.
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Marty, Mike and John,
Slow down on the press releases.
PP, Sorry to post this on a wrong thread but I thought this article might catch your interest. I enjoy seeing SD legislators weighing in on the presidential race and having actual OPINIONS.
For state legislator Steve Westra of Sioux Falls, who started the South Dakotans for Jeb Bush group, the difference in style between Bush and Trump speaks to the tenuous nature of Trump’s popularity.
“It’s just a matter of time before Donald Trump goes away,” said Westra. “His (surge) has helped get people interested in the process, but that just allows more potential voters to see Jeb in a better light and ask themselves, ‘Who’s more presidential? Who do I want representing my country?’ ”
As Westra suggests, the most plausible scenario is that Trump flames out. With six months until the Iowa caucuses and nearly a year until the GOP convention in Cleveland, there are too many opportunities for misadventure for him to survive the media gauntlet.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/columnists/stu-whitney/2015/08/07/donald-trump-stu-whitney-america-veterans/31310221/
How pathetic that the states have to challenge Obama while our supposedly “Republican” Congress sits on its ass and only conduct symbolic votes. Symbolic votes against Obama Care, symbolic votes against the EPA. That and a failure to pass a bill to defund the heinous butchery of Planned Parenthood. What I would rather hear is some straight talk from Rounds, Thune and Noem telling me straight up whether they are going to continue to dodge questions about replacing Boehner and McConnell so these houses can mover forward and get on with the business they were elected to do. Boehner dodged a bullet before recess. SO tell us, Noem– are you standing with this drunken loser or against him when you return to DC? Ditto Rounds and Thune on dumping grandma McConnell. Shutting the government “would be bad?” Only clowns who dwell inside the Beltway believe that. I worked for the fed during a so-called shutdown. ALL essential services continue as normal. The Congress always has an emergency fund for this contingency. It is millions. So stop with the baloney people and get to WORK.