At the end of last year, the Environmental Protection Agency's and Army Corps of Engineers' (the Agencies') final Waters of the United States ("WOTUS") rule was released and scheduled to take effect on March 20, 2023. The National Association of REALTORS®, as part of a large coalition, has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to stop the rule from going into effect.

The lawsuit challenges the legality of the rule, which purports to clarify the Agencies' definition of WOTUS. Instead of providing much-needed clarity to the regulated community, the rule instead vastly expands the Agencies' authority over dry land and water features regardless of the physical connection to actual navigable waters. In February of this year, NAR submitted their comments on the proposed rule.