Attorney General Chris Carr this week joined a 17-state coalition to support farmers and landowners by urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to adopt its proposed replacement of the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.

“Our office has been leading litigation to prevent the implementation of the 2015 WOTUS rule for almost four years,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “That rule would have given the federal government jurisdiction to implement complex federal mandates over state natural resources, including roadside ditches, streams and many other areas. That’s unacceptable, and Georgia is proud to be at the forefront of these efforts to stand up for our farmers and landowners.”

The coalition, in comments filed late Monday, explained that the Administration’s proposal would restore reasonable, predictable lines between waters subject to federal regulation and those left to be regulated by the states. The coalition believes the new rule will correct flaws in the 2015 regulation, which extended authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers far beyond what Congress intended and the Constitution permits. The new rule also respects the primary responsibility and right of states to protect their own water resources.

Georgia signed the West Virginia-led letter with attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

In addition to this joint effort, Georgia currently leads litigation challenging the 2015 rule on behalf of an 11-state coalition. Last June, that coalition secured a preliminary injunction that protects Georgians and citizens of those states from the burdens the 2015 rule would have imposed.