The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. According to NSSGA, WOTUS radically expands federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, posing serious concerns for the aggregates industry and the nation.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, NSSGA expressed its concerns to the EPA both in person and through written comments. Despite NSSGA’s efforts, EPA plans to enact the final WOTUS rule Aug. 28. As a result, many areas of previously unregulated land will fall under federal jurisdiction and require costly federal permitting, correction or mitigation, NSSGA argues, causing delays in public-works projects.
“The WOTUS rule is one of the most egregious examples of federal agency overreach that I have ever seen,” says Mike Johnson, NSSGA president and CEO. “We tried to work with EPA early on in the process, but see this suit as necessary to combat the threat of federal control of private land use. We are committed to supporting our members and safeguarding the growth of the aggregates industry.”
Johnson also says the Army Corps of Engineers, one of the federal agencies listed as co-authors of the WOTUS rule, recently said the rule is “legally and technically unjustified and unworkable.”
NSSGA filed the lawsuit as part of a coalition of business organizations against the waters rule, including the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Homebuilders, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Mining Association and others.
