On April 12, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a blocking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers from enforcing a final rule published by the agencies on Jan. 18 that . The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by 24 state attorneys general and rejected a request to block enforcement nationwide.

The April 12 preliminary injunction applies to Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Enforcement in Texas and Idaho was blocked under a previous ruling in a separate lawsuit.

The final rule, which defines the scope of waters subject to Clean Water Act regulation, repealed the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓsupported, and codified a definition that reflects the pre-2015 regulatory regime that the agencies are currently implementing. ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓjoined a coalition opposing the rule, submitting comments outlining how it fails to provide unambiguous water quality protections that provide clarity for contractors seeking to safeguard the environment and comply with federal regulations.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓhas also H.J. Res 27, a Congressional Review Act resolution that would have overturned the final rule, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate with bipartisan support before being by President Joe Biden on April 6.

On April 18, the House held a vote on overriding the veto. ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓissued an action alert asking members to urge their member of Congress to vote in support. The veto override again received bipartisan support in a vote but failed to meet the two-thirds threshold needed to pass.