OKLAHOMA CITY (April 12, 2023) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond made the following remarks after a federal district judge in North Dakota today granted a preliminary injunction of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The injunctive relief blocks the EPA from implementing the rule in Oklahoma and 23 other states that have challenged it.
“I am pleased by the injunctive relief granted today,” Drummond said. “The Biden Administration routinely infringes on the 10th Amendment rights of Oklahoma and other states, but today the Court put that overreach on hold. I will continue fighting to defend Oklahoma’s sovereignty in this matter.”
Instead of supposedly clarifying the Clean Water Act, the recent rule proposed by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers would spur confusion and uncertainty by significantly broadening the EPA’s jurisdiction.
The order granting a preliminary junction can be read here.
