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1 (January 31, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthmbdwb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~Congressional Researchf Service Informing the leg Isative debate since 1914 Clean Water Rule Challenges Must Begin in Federal District Courts, Supreme Court Holds Stephen P. Mulligan Legislative Attorney January 31, 2018 In National Association ofManufacturers (NAM) v. Department of Defense, the Supreme Court held that legal challenges to the 2015 Clean Water Rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) must be litigated in multiple federal district courts rather than in a consolidated case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Sixth Circuit). Since October 2015, a Sixth Circuit order had stayed implementation of the Clean Water Rule on a nationwide basis pending the court's determination of its jurisdiction over the challenge to the Rule. But the Supreme Court's NAM decision, which requires the Sixth Circuit to dismiss its case, will result in the elimination of that order, and potentially could complicate legal challenges to the Clean Water Rule and the Trump Administration's effort to rescind and replace it. Background on NAM and the Clean Water Rule Also known as the Waters of the United States or WOTUS Rule, the Clean Water Rule attempts to define which waters and wetlands are subject to regulatory requirements in the Clean Water Act. The underlying issue addressed in the Clean Water Rule-the breadth of federal regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act-has been debated and litigated for more than 40 years (as outlined in this CRS report), and the Clean Water Rule has been no exception to this trend. After the Corps and EPA announced the Clean Water Rule in 2015, more than 100 parties filed lawsuits challenging its scope and legal authority in federal appellate and district courts across the country. Before any court could address the merits of the claims, however, an impasse arose over what court was the proper forum for the litigation. Congressional Research Service 7-5700 CRS Legal Sidebar www.crs.gov LSB10069 Prepared for Members and Committees of Conaress

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