6th Circuit overrules Kentucky’s loss on Biden WOTUS rule

By Pamela King | 07/30/2024 01:16 PM EDT

The state must now file a new lawsuit, amend its old challenge or drop the litigation.

A bird in wetlands at dusk.

A roseate spoonbill feeds in a slough through wetlands along Settegast Road in Galveston, Texas. Jennifer Reynolds/Galveston County Daily News via AP

A federal appeals court has breathed new life into Kentucky’s case against the Biden administration’s protections for the nation’s wetlands.

In a short, unsigned opinion issued Monday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a lower bench got it wrong when it tossed out the Bluegrass State’s lawsuit over EPA’s new definition of “waters of the U.S.,” or WOTUS.

The 6th Circuit noted, however, that many of Kentucky’s complaints may have been resolved after the Biden administration revised its WOTUS rule in light of Sackett v. EPA, which removed protections for most U.S. wetlands.

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Kentucky “must file notice of their intent to file a new suit, amend their present complaint, or dispense with this litigation altogether,” the court wrote.

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