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Arkansas, Others Sue Over Rule Giving Feds Authority on State Water

2 min read

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has joined several states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The lawsuit challenges a new rule defining Waters of the United States. It contends the rule violates the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the U.S. Constitution.

It claims the rule brings numerous isolated bodies of water under the jurisdiction of the EPA and the Corps, resulting in landowners having to seek additional federal permits or face fines.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in North Dakota by attorneys general from Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, as well as the New Mexico Environmental Department and the New Mexico Office of State Engineer.

“From the beginning, I have explained that this rule from the EPA and the Corps goes beyond the intent of Congress under the Clean Water Act and will negatively impact Arkansas’ agriculture community — a community that accounts for one in every six jobs across the state,” Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas’ attorney general, said in a news release.

“I have also indicated that I was prepared to take any and all legal action to prevent implementation of this unlawful regulation, which is why I am proud to join 12 other states in filing this lawsuit today,” she said. “I am confident that the courts will once again affirm that local oversight and local control is the best way to protect our waters.”

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.)

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