Press Releases

Press Releases

NAM’s Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action Fights Onerous WOTUS Rule

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) today 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. Arcane 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.

To learn more about the MCLA, click here, and to learn more about the impact of federal water regulations on manufacturers, visit our website.

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

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