The U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota has struck down the Biden "waters of the U.S." (WOTUS) rule, stating that it cannot be implemented in 24 states during the rule's challenge. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and 17 other industry groups are a party to the case. The court's decision adds to the two-state preliminary injunction previously received by a Texas court, meaning that the Biden WOTUS rule cannot currently be enforced in total of 26 states, more than half the nation.

 

In the ruling, the North Dakota court cited several arguments made by the states in their request for a preliminary injunction, including that "the new 2023 Rule is neither understandable nor 'intelligible,' and its boundaries are unlimited." The U.S. Supreme Court will also be issuing a ruling in the coming weeks in the case of Sackett v. EPA, which is focused on the legality of the significant nexus text, a critical part of the Biden WOTUS rule. NAHB calls on the administration to craft a new WOTUS rule that restores common sense and predictability to the federal wetlands permitting process while maintaining environmental protection of our nation's waterways.

https://www.nahb.org/blog/2023/04/nd-wotus