ational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn issued this statement following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s decision to issue a nationwide stay against the enforcement of the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Rule, which will expand federal regulatory jurisdiction over waters of the United States (WOTUS) and expose energy and mineral development to additional permitting delays, threaten economic development and put high-wage jobs at risk:
“Recognizing the legal infirmities that could ultimately topple the rule, the court today wisely decided to suspend the nationwide implementation of the waters of the U.S. rule. As it stands, the federal overreach embodied in the WOTUS rule will only add more uncertainty and delays to state, local and private land use decisions.”