The U.S. Senate failed to pass a measure that would block the Clean Water Act rule, otherwise known as the Waters of the U.S. rule. Senators voted 56-42, failing to reach the required 60 votes to attach the amendment to the fiscal 2017 funding bill for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Agri-Pulse reports North Dakota Republican Senator John Hoeven originally planned to attach the amendment to the EPA funding bill, however the White House had threatened to veto the bill if passed. Meanwhile, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant a rehearing on its decision regarding where the court dispute over WOTUS should be deliberated. The involved parties asked the court to send the matter to district courts, but the appeals court declined. The same court issued a nationwide stay of the rule last year, indicating the states involved in one lawsuit were likely to win their case.