What happens with the Waters of the U.S. rule once the Supreme Court releases its decision on Sackett v. EPA?
Mary Thomas Hart, chief counsel with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says a favorable ruling doesn’t necessarily mean the Biden administration will reevaluate its WOTUS rule to write a new one that is more friendly to agriculture. “We’ve been in this season for a while now where the administration is almost taking action to fly in the face of Congress and the Judicial branch,” she says. “It’s almost like this administration finalizes rules so that the Supreme Court will overturn them.”
She tells Brownfield the administration isn’t likely to take a lot of guidance from the Supreme Court’s ruling. “The more we can continue to push this administration and make very clear that an overly broad and vague WOTUS definition is not beneficial, not helpful for small businesses, and not helpful for farmers and ranchers.”
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case in October 2022.
