The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit enacted a nationwide stay on the Environmental Protection Agency’s expanded Clean Water Act provisions.
The EPA had expanded the definition of “waters of the United States” under the act to include smaller streams and other bodies of water. The Sixth Circuit Court said in its ruling: “A stay temporarily silences the whirlwind of confusion that springs from uncertainty about the requirements of the new rule and whether they will survive legal testing.”
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers will use their previous definitions of “waters of the U.S.” until federal courts sort out the validity of the expanded definition.
“We applaud the court for taking this action to suspend EPA’s water rule,” said National Association of Home Builders Chairman Tom Woods. “NAHB has been working diligently on the legislative and legal fronts to overturn this rule that raises housing costs, tramples states’ rights, and adds unnecessary regulatory burdens to small businesses.”
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2021
Low-cost methods can have substantial impact on reducing embodied carbon
Whole-building design, material substitution, and specification strategies can slash carbon by up to 46%.
Codes and Standards | Sep 2, 2021
Case for power resiliency in buildings grows with more disaster and outages
Essential businesses like data centers, hospitals are first adopters of new storage systems.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2021
UK industry group wants mandatory whole-life carbon assessments of buildings
Aims to address hidden emissions embedded in supply chains.
Codes and Standards | Aug 31, 2021
Home electrification will require code upgrades
Residential electric panel capacity must be increased.
Codes and Standards | Aug 30, 2021
Facebook’s new $800 million Arizona data center to save big on water
Will restore more than 200 million gallons of water per year to river basins.
Codes and Standards | Aug 26, 2021
California may require solar on new high-rise residential and commercial buildings
State energy commission approves proposal; Could become law in 2023.
Codes and Standards | Aug 25, 2021
Study finds racism, discrimination common in construction industry
NIBS to share best practices with industry leaders to improve worker treatment.
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2021
White paper addresses insulated metal panel specifications for roofs and walls
Pertains to provisions of the National Building Code of Canada.
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2021
KTGY releases free resource to reduce carbon footprint in multifamily developments
Helps navigate Denver Green Code measures—a series of voluntary codes.
Codes and Standards | Aug 19, 2021
Massive infrastructure bill includes hundreds of millions for building energy efficiency
Funds allotted for updated code implementation, construction technology, K-12 efficiency programs.