"Get ready for a surge of lawsuits over the Trump administration's decision to walk back Obama-era protections for wetlands and streams.

Opponents to the administration's take on which water bodies are considered "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act already launched at least two challenges this week, kicking off the next round of courtroom action. The cases add a new dimension to what could soon be a complicated legal quagmire over the Obama administration's WOTUS rule and the Trump administration's efforts to both erase and replace the regulation.

Court watchers say it's not yet clear whether challenges to the Clean Water Rule repeal will wipe out an existing body of litigation over the 2015 regulation. Legal experts expect the fight to eventually make it to the Supreme Court, but they can't predict when."

Pamela King reports for Greenwire October 24, 2019. [2]