On Friday, October 9, a federal appeals court halted a high-profile rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, marking the latest legal maneuver for the controversial rule. Judges on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio issued an order granting states’ request to stay the Waters of the U.S. rule while the court considers its legality. The order comes in response to challenges by 18 states to the Waters of the U.S. rule from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers and puts the rule on hold pending legal review. The petitioners included: Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
