(NewsDakota.com/NAFB) – Groups representing agriculture, infrastructure, housing, and petroleum filed a legal challenge to the new Waters of the U.S. Rule.

“The Biden Administration’s WOTUS definition is an attack on farmers and ranchers, and we’ll be fighting back in court,” says Mary-Thomas Hart, chief counsel for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “The rule removes longstanding exclusions for small and isolated water features on farms and ranches and adds to the regulatory burden farmers already face.”

Non-agriculture groups in the lawsuit include the American Petroleum Institute, the Associated General Contractors of America, and many others. “The new rule creates uncertainty for farmers and ranchers even if they’re miles from the nearest navigable water,” says Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “We believe a judge will see these regulations exceed the scope of the Clean Water Act.” A Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA could require the EPA to start over again on defining WOTUS.