Clean Water Program Manager News Today

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the Colorado injunction of the Trump administrations Navigable Waters Protection Rule, siding with a coalition of trade groups including the, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemens Beef Association and National Pork Producers Council. The Court ruled that Colorado failed to show irreparable injury on the record before the Court. Due to this ruling, NWPR is now effective law in Colorado and all 50 states are now must abide by...

The Tenth Circuit also rejected Colorado’s two alternative arguments, the first being its “permitting gap” argument. Colorado had argued that the NWPR would create a gap under which many dredge-and-fill projects would be prohibited, since state law prohibits all discharges of dredged or fill material into state waters in the absence of federal permits while the NWPR’s narrowed jurisdiction could lead to unpermitted discharges into state waters. 8 That claim of injury, however, is not l...