"Clean Water Rule: Supreme Court To Hear WOTUS Litigation"

"In a rebuke to the Trump administration, the Supreme Court [Monday] decided to continue hearing litigation over the Obama administration's Clean Water Rule.

The high court rejected the Justice Department's motion to halt the case while the Trump administration reconsiders and changes or rescinds the rule. The Clean Water Rule, though, remains stayed nationwide.

The Obama administration's rule clarified which streams and wetlands receive automatic protection under the Clean Water Act. The Supreme Court case centered on whether legal challenges belong in federal district or appeals courts.

Petitioners filed 18 lawsuits in district courts and 22 petitions for review in federal appeals courts over the rule, which is also known as Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS. In February 2016, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that it had jurisdiction to hear challenges."

Amanda Reilly reports for Greenwire April 3, 2017.