WASHINGTON — The National Association of Manufacturers filed a motion for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas seeking to strike down the onerous 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in its entirety.

“Manufacturers finally have the opportunity to strike down this onerous rule and clear a path for the current administration to issue a sensible and clear replacement,” said NAM Senior Vice President and General Counsel Linda Kelly. “For more than three years, the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action has fought the 2015 WOTUS rule because it goes further than the law allows, even attempting to regulate land that isn’t wet. The uncertainty created by this overreaching and unfair rule threatens manufacturing jobs, and it fails to adequately protect clean water. Manufacturers recognize we must responsibly manage water resources and have been working to protect clean water for decades. The NAM will continue to advocate for a new rule that is consistent with the Clean Water Act, protects our nation’s waters and provides clarity for manufacturers and landowners around the country.”

The NAM’s Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action (MCLA) has been in active litigation against the 2015 WOTUS rule since July 2015. Procedural obstacles prevented the courts from hearing the merits of our lawsuit for several years. In early 2018, however, the NAM scored a significant legal victory before the U.S. Supreme Court, which resolved those issues and has now allowed litigation against the substance of the rule to proceed.

For more information, visit www.nam.org.