(Office of the Attorney General) – CARSON CITY – Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers requesting voluntary delay of their new “Waters of the United States” rule without court intervention. Currently, the rule is scheduled to go into effect on August 28, 2015.
As noted in AG Laxalt’s recent editorial, the new “Waters of the United States” rule vastly broadens federal authority over state and local waters beyond what Congress authorized. The burdens created by the new federal requirements on waters and lands will negatively impact landowners, farmers, developers and others in their respective states, with the western states most significantly affected.
“Like they have done before, federal agencies are trying to rush through an unlawful expansion of their authority over issues that are primarily reserved for individual states,” said Laxalt. “This letter asks those federal agencies to voluntarily cooperate with Nevada and other states by delaying the effective date of their far-reaching water rule until there is a thorough judicial review.”
In June, Nevada, along with a bipartisan coalition of 13 states, sued to stop the new “Waters of the United States” rule. Although the states promptly filed suit, the rule could become effective before courts have an opportunity to consider its lawfulness.
Nevada is joined by 30 states in issuing this letter, including: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
To view the letter, click here.
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