Attorney General Luther Strange, Alabama join multi-state legal push to stay new EPA water regulations

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Attorney General of Alabama Luther Strange

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has signed on to make the state of Alabama a plaintiff in a multi-state legal push to stop the implementation of new federal environmental regulations Strange calls an “unprecedented” expansion of power for the EPA.

Strange, one of 18 conservative-leaning attorneys general who today enjoined the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio to block the new executive measures, said Thursday the new “Waters of the United States” rules regime did not properly consider the role of state governments in water conservation and policy.

“The EPA WOTUS rule, which went into effect on August 28, 2015, should be halted nationwide while lawsuits filed by states, including Alabama, against the EPA rule are consolidated and reviewed by the federal courts,” Strange said in a statement.

“The Waters of the U.S. rule is an unprecedented effort to expand the EPA’s regulatory authority at the expense of state’s legal rights and the rights of property owners.  In fact, it is so extreme that even the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – one of the agencies tasked with implementing the new regulation – has warned that it is ‘legally vulnerable’ to a court challenge.”

Alabama joined the original class of plaintiffs back in June, including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Today’s move to file a motion in the 6th Circuit attracted the states of Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas to the fold as well.

Strange’s office concluded the announcement with a declaration Alabama would not rest in its quest for a remedy to counter the EPA’s new regulatory efforts.

“Alabama will continue to fight the unjustified EPA water rule in court with the ultimate goal of invalidating it,” read Strange’s close.

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