National Cattlemen's Beef Assocation Lawsuit Lays Foundation for WOTUS Nexus Test Languae

In January, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency challenging the Biden administration's final Waters of the US rule. The Biden administration's WOTUS definition is an attack on farmers and ranchers and NCBA will be fighting back in court. According to NCBA Chief Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart, she says the rule removes long-standing bipartisan exclusions for small and isolated water features on farms and ranches and adds to the regulatory burden that cattle producers are facing under this administration. She explains the difference between NCBA litigation and the current Supreme Court Sackett case, why they are both important, and how they work together to hopefully help agricultural landowners.

“In the litigation on the Biden administration. We're looking at the text of the rule, right? Meanwhile, the Sackett case is looking at significant Nexus tests the underlying foundation. So you know, regardless of what happens in the litigation on the Biden rule, the decision in the Sackett case is going to impact the future of the Biden rule because it's rooted in the foundation of that definition.”

The Sackett versus EPA case will determine the future efficacy of the Clean Water Act by deciding whether wetlands are or are not deserving of federal protection. Thomas Hart says that they expect a court ruling between now and June and points out that President Biden cannot override a Supreme Court ruling.