Federal Appeals Court blocks Obama's unconstitutional water rule nationwide

[NightHawkeye]

Court blocks Obama’s water rule nationwide | The Hill

A federal court ruled Friday that President Obama’s regulation to protect small waterways from pollution cannot be enforced nationwide.

In a 2-1 ruling, the Cincinnati-based Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered a stinging defeat to Obama’s most ambitious effort to keep streams and wetlands clean, saying it looks likely that the rule, dubbed “waters of the United States,” is illegal.

“We conclude that petitioners have demonstrated a substantial possibility of success on the merits of their claims,” the judges wrote in their decision, explaining that the Environmental Protection Agency’s new guidelines for determining whether water is subject to federal control — based mostly on the water’s distance and connection to larger water bodies — is “at odds” with a key Supreme Court ruling.​

 

[brinny]

i'm shocked that anyone or anything can come against Obama at this point.

 

[NightHawkeye]

i'm shocked that anyone or anything can come against Obama at this point.

Meh ... what's Obama gonna do?

Is he gonna put the Federal Appeals Court judges in jail for upholding the constitution?

If he tries to fire 'em, he opens up the possibility of the next pres extending that to the firing of Supreme Court justices.

 

[brinny]

Meh ... what's Obama gonna do?

Is he gonna put the Federal Appeals Court judges in jail for upholding the constitution?

If he tries to fire 'em, he opens up the possibility of the next pres extending that to the firing of Supreme Court justices.

LOL! Next president? Yer a trusting soul, aren't ya'?

 

[NightHawkeye]

LOL! Next president? Yer a trusting soul, aren't ya'?

What's Obama gonna do to stop it?

He has far less support now than during his first term.

 

[brinny]

What's Obama gonna do to stop it?

He has far less support now than during his first term.

He DOES? Yet he has all this power.....

what's THAT about?

 

[NightHawkeye]

He DOES? Yet he has all this power.....

what's THAT about?

Beats me. Mostly smoke and mirrors as near as I can tell.

I've been amazed that more people didn't challenge him earlier in his presidency.

 

[brinny]

Beats me. Mostly smoke and mirrors as near as I can tell.

I've been amazed that more people didn't challenge him earlier in his presidency.

Odd, isn't it?

 

[Arcangl86]

I'm sorry, where does it say that the rule is unconstitutional?

 

[NightHawkeye]

I'm sorry, where does it say that the rule is unconstitutional?

Here's a good discussion from the Progressive perspective ...
New Lawsuit Says Clean Water Rule Threatens ‘The Very Structure Of The Constitution’ | ThinkProgress

Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi filed a joint lawsuit in a Houston federal court, asserting that the EPA’s final rule is “an unconstitutional and impermissible expansion of federal power over the states and their citizens and property owners.” While the EPA has the authority to regulate water quality, the suit says Congress has not granted the EPA the power to regulate water and land use.

The lawsuit claims that “the very structure of the Constitution, and therefore liberty itself, is threatened when administrative agencies attempt to assert independent sovereignty and lawmaking authority that is superior to the states, Congress, and the courts.”​

Two separate lawsuits were later combined ... and the combined suit challenged Obama's rule with legal precedence going back to the constitution rather than directly challenging constitutionality. Hence, the reason the judges called the order "illegal" in the latest ruling.

 

[Oafman]

This is great news for fans of polluted streams

 

[Arcangl86]

Here's a good discussion from the Progressive perspective ...
New Lawsuit Says Clean Water Rule Threatens ‘The Very Structure Of The Constitution’ | ThinkProgress

Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi filed a joint lawsuit in a Houston federal court, asserting that the EPA’s final rule is “an unconstitutional and impermissible expansion of federal power over the states and their citizens and property owners.” While the EPA has the authority to regulate water quality, the suit says Congress has not granted the EPA the power to regulate water and land use.

The lawsuit claims that “the very structure of the Constitution, and therefore liberty itself, is threatened when administrative agencies attempt to assert independent sovereignty and lawmaking authority that is superior to the states, Congress, and the courts.”​

Two separate lawsuits were later combined ... and the combined suit challenged Obama's rule with legal precedence going back to the constitution rather than directly challenging constitutionality. Hence, the reason the judges called the order "illegal" in the latest ruling.

Except they didn't. They issued a preliminary stay in this matter. Not only have they not issued a final opinion on the case, they haven't even decided yet if they have jurisdiction to hear the case at all.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Except they didn't. They issued a preliminary stay in this matter. Not only have they not issued a final opinion on the case, they haven't even decided yet if they have jurisdiction to hear the case at all.

Call it what you will. The court stopped it dead in its tracks.

The Hill also provided this: Court blocks Obama’s water rule nationwide | The Hill

“Small businesses everywhere this morning are breathing a sigh of relief,” Karen Harned, executive director of the group’s legal foundation, said in a statement.

“The court very properly acknowledged that the WOTUS rule has created a ‘whirlwind of confusion’ and that blocking its implementation in every state is the practicable way to resolve the deep legal question of whether it can withstand constitutional muster.”
...
Republicans, nearly 30 states and a wide range of business interests say that it is a major overreach of federal power, putting the EPA in charge of nearly every square inch of private and state land.​

 

[Arcangl86]

Call it what you will. The court stopped it dead in its tracks.

While they decide first issues of jurisdiction, then if they feel that they have original jurisdiction, the disposition of the case. So really, they didn't decide anything yet, but are issuing a temporary stay until the case is resolved. And also, I still don't see where the court said anything about the Constitution.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Noting that the people directly involved in bringing the litigation see it as a constitutional issue.

 

[Arcangl86]

Noting that the people directly involved in bringing the litigation see it as a constitutional issue.

Good for them. Doesn't actually make it one though.

 

[nightflight]

This is great news for fans of polluted streams

And racists too.

 

[AceHero]

Republicans, nearly 30 states and a wide range of business interests say that it is a major overreach of federal power, putting the EPA in charge of nearly every square inch of private and state land.

Oh brother...