Sixth Circuit Rejects States’ Challenge in Obama Water Rule Case

A defunct Obama-era water rule isn’t poised to spring back to life in Ohio or Tennessee, after the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday sided with critics of the regulation in an unusual appeal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot, and remanded the case to the district court. The appeals panel also vacated the district court’s order denying the states’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the 2015 Clean Water Rule, saying the mootness of the case precluded the panel from reviewing the merits of that order.