Lawyers Confused Over Water Jurisdiction After Conflicting Rulings

Water law experts disagree broadly about whether two federal court decisions vacating the Trump-era definition of the waters of the U.S., or WOTUS, applies nationwide as the Biden administration defines the term for itself.

“There has been a period of transition and confusion since” the August decision vacating the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule, said Kevin Minoli, a partner at Alston & Bird LLP in Washington and former principal deputy general counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration.

The confusion stems mainly from at least four federal court rulings—two vacating the the Trump-era rule and two remanding ...