LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has joined several states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The lawsuit challenges a new rule defining Waters of the United States. It contends the rule violates the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the U.S. Constitution.
It claims the rule brings numerous isolated bodies of water under the jurisdiction of the EPA and the Corps, resulting in landowners having to seek additional federal permits or face fines.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in North Dakota by attorneys general from Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, as well as the New Mexico Environmental Department and the New Mexico Office of State Engineer.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.