On Oct. 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its ruling blocking the EPA and Corps from implementing the WOTUS rule nationwide.  Two out of three Sixth Circuit judges sided with the petitioners – Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources – saying they demonstrated "a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims."

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey led the charge. The rule extends the EPA and Corps’ regulatory jurisdiction to an untold number of small bodies of water, including roadside ditches and short-lived streams or any other area where the agencies believe water may flow once every 100 years. Thirty-one states and state agencies have challenged the legality of the regulation, arguing it violates the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. They argue it also usurps their primary responsibility of management, protection and care of intrastate waters and lands. The National Association of Manufacturers also has challenged the rule, filing a lawsuit against it in July.

The latest action by the House utilized the Congressional Review Act, a seldom-used procedure that allows Congress to repeal major regulations. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama’s desk.  "We will continue to stand up to this massive overreach by the Obama Administration in Congress and in the courts," McKinley said following Tuesday’s vote.