WYOMING — On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of petitioners and narrowed the Biden administration’s authority to define Waters of the United States (WOTUS) in the case of “Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency.”
In February, U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis (both R-WY) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval to the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule. Biden’s rule repealed the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) and changed the definition of WOTUS, expanding the authority of the federal bureaucracy.
Senator Lummis considers the ruling a win for farmers and ranchers in Wyoming.
“The Biden administration clearly overreached its authority in defining which waters received federal protections, and I’m glad the Supreme Court agreed with what Republicans have been saying all along,” said Senator Lummis. “This court ruling is a win for the hardworking farmers, ranchers, businesses and landowners of Wyoming who desperately needed regulatory clarity when it comes to WOTUS. An irrigation ditch is not navigable water, and the Supreme Court agrees with that statement.”
