A federal appeals court ruled on October 9 that the Environmental Protection Agency must stop implementation of the Clean Water Rule across the country. A U.S. District Court determined in late August that the rule would not apply to 13 states that were party to that district's lawsuit, but ruled that the injunction would not impact the rest of the country. In the most recent court decision, a 2-1 ruling by the 6^th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Cincinnati, issued the nationwide stay effective immediately.

Judges David McKeague and Richard Allen Griffin, writing in the majority stated, "In one sense, the clarification that the new Rule strives to achieve is long overdue. We also accept that respondent agencies have conscientiously endeavored, within their technical expertise and experience, and based on reliable peer-reviewed science, to promulgate new standards to protect water quality that conform to the Supreme Court's guidance. Yet, the sheer breadth of the ripple effects caused by the Rule's definitional changes counsels strongly in favor of maintaining the status quo for the time being."

However, Judge Damon Keith countered in his dissent that the court was acting before determining whether it has the jurisdiction to review the rule. "One of the issues in this case is whether this court has exclusive jurisdiction to review the Rule in the first instance. We can enjoin implementation of the Rule if we determine that we have jurisdiction. But until that question is answered, our subject-matter jurisdiction is in doubt, and I do not believe we should stay implementation of the Clean Water Rule."