Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/9/18

Critics of the Obama administration's controversial water rule are mounting a double-pronged attack to keep the regulation from going into effect now that an appellate court stay could be lifted as soon as next week. 

The Trump administration has moved to delay the 2015 rule administratively - a move that legal experts say could be on shaky ground. In the meantime, industry groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Home Builders Association this week asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to issue a nationwide preliminary injunction for the rule.

Pointing to the multiple steps the Trump administration is taking to overturn the rule and the lawsuits expected as a result, the groups argue they are facing "paralyzing uncertainty" that could last for years and would risk not only civil fines but also criminal charges for acting in the meantime. 

While the Trump administration is apt to agree with the industry groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation have both intervened in the case to oppose the injunction request.