"A federal court injunction this week against the Biden administration’s new waters protection rule in 24 states sparked questions over the clarity and path forward for the rule, even if the action doesn’t dramatically change which waters are protected.

“All the judge has really done is enjoin a somewhat clearer explanation of the law,” without upending the overall legal regime governing wetlands and rivers protection, said Dave Owen, a law professor at the University of California College of the Law-San Francisco.

President Joe Biden offered a rule earlier this year to help protect water quality in rivers and streams and determine where and how homes, mines, highways, and other development can be built if they touch wetlands or waterways.

Republican-led states, along with agriculture and business groups, opposed the rule, filing several lawsuits across the US asking for the proposal to be blocked."

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment April 13, 2023. [2]