Wheeler

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al., Case No. 20-cv-03005-RS Plaintiffs, 11 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY RELIEF ANDREW WHEELER, et al., 13 Defendants.

15 I. INTRODUCTION This case is a challenge to a new rule that will substantially narrow the definition of what are “waters of the United States” subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. Plaintiffs seek a court order preventing the new rule from taking effect, pending a determination on the merits of the case. Plaintiffs point to significant irreparable harms that will occur before the litigation is resolved, if the rule is legally invalid but allowed to go into operation now. Were the court tasked with the question of whether the new rule represents wise environmental policy or the best approach to protecting water resources that could be supported by scientific data, the result might be different. The court’s…