EPA Concedes to Attorney General Cameron, Halts WOTUS Enforcement

Its rule-making process is a win for Kentucky agriculture

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 3, 2023) – Attorney General Daniel Cameron scored his latest win in the fight to keep the Biden Administration from enforcing a new rule re-defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS). After a legal challenge from Attorney General Cameron, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently agreed to halt its efforts to enforce the new WOTUS rule and to re-write it to comply with the law.

“Joe Biden’s radical climate agenda would hurt Kentucky—and I won’t allow it,” said Attorney General Cameron. “I have fought this Administration’s fringe environmentalism every step of the way, and their concession today is the latest victory for farmers and landowners who wish to avoid excessive federal regulation.”

Last December, the EPA redefined WOTUS, dramatically expanding the agency’s authority over U.S. waterways and farmland. In February, Attorney General Cameron filed a lawsuit challenging the new rule, arguing that it usurped Kentucky’s authority to manage its own lands and waters. A Kentucky federal district court dismissed the case.

Attorney General Cameron appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and obtained an order temporarily preventing the EPA from enforcing the rule in Kentucky. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously rebuked the EPA, rejecting its claim to virtually limitless regulatory authority over lands and waters of the Commonwealth and every other state. The ruling effectively compelled the EPA’s concession to Attorney General Cameron.

The agreement by the federal government to start over with its rule-making process is a win for Kentucky agriculture and assures that farmers and landowners can live and work on their property free from heavy-handed federal government policies.

To view a copy of the EPA’s motion, click here.