24-state coalition asks federal court to strike down new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule
Attorney General Todd Rokita filed suit against the Biden administration over what he describes as “to protect Hoosiers’ jobs, property and freedom from an overreaching US Environmental Protection Agency rule.” The ruling in question redefines the phrase “navigable waters” under the Clean Water Act. The new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule would force Indiana landowners to gain federal permission federal before using their own property in ways deemed to impact certain ponds, streams, ditches, or other wet areas of ground.
Twenty-four states have joined together to bring the lawsuit against the EPA. The lawsuit also names the US Army Corps of Engineers as a defendant. The Biden administration’s new final rule is the culmination of a decades-long rulemaking process to define the geographic reach of the EPA’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ authority in regulating streams, wetlands, and other water bodies under the Clean Water Act. It follows the Trump administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which offered a more restrained vision of federal jurisdiction.
If the final rule is left in place, the lawsuit states, “then ranchers, farmers, miners, homebuilders, and other landowners across the country will struggle to undertake even the simplest of activities on their own property without fear of drawing the ire of the federal government.”
The lawsuit further states: “Landowning Americans of all stripes will thus be left with a choice: (a) fight their way through an expensive and lengthy administrative process to obtain complex jurisdictional determinations and permits or (b) face substantial civil and criminal penalties. The Final Rule’s ambiguous environmental benefits do not justify any of this.”
New Castle woman arrested for flashing passers by
A 39 year-old New Castle woman has been arrested for on charges of public indecency. The woman is accused of flashing vehicles that drove by the liquor store parking lot where she was found standing, at the intersection of 14th and Indiana Avenue in New Castle. The woman is said to have ignored the requests of officers to stop exposing herself, only to lift her sweatshirt and exposed her breasts to them, and according to reports, began to rub them together. The woman was then arrested and brought to the hospital for medical clearance, where she needed to be handcuffed to a bed because to continuously attempted to flee.
City of Bloomington accepting applications to serve on City’s Boards and Commissions
The City of Bloomington is accepting applications from community members who would like to serve on one of the following City boards or commissions. More information about each board and commission, including mission statements, membership requirements, current membership listings, and term lengths, is available at the links listed below. The application is available here. After applying, members must be appointed to each board or commission by the Bloomington Common Council or Mayor John Hamilton. Please note: city residency is required for membership on most but not all of the boards and commissions.
- BIDAC (Bloomington Industrial Development Advisory Commission)
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission
- Board of Zoning Appeals
- Commission on Sustainability
- Commission on the Status of Black Males
- Community Advisory on Public Safety Commission
- Commission on the Status of Children and Youth
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Commission
- Human Rights Commission
- Parking Commission
- Traffic Commission
- Urban Enterprise Association
This Week in Hoosier History
1894 -The Athenaeum opened on East Michigan Street in Indianapolis. Originally named Das Deutsche Haus, the building was designed by architects Bernard Vonnegut and Arthur Bohn.
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