Law360, New York ( September 16, 2015, 12:28 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' final rule defining "waters of the United States," also called the Clean Water Rule, 80 Fed. Reg. 37,054 (June 29, 2015), has not disappointed in terms of controversy. From proposal to issuance to the slew of court cases contesting it, the Clean Water Rule has gathered unprecedented interest. One of the district court judges presiding over a challenge to the rule has differed from his peers and determined that the rule should be stayed in the 13 states that are plaintiffs in the case before him. And so the substantively controversial rule becomes procedurally controversial as well, at least for the time being. Although the stay may not survive on appeal, the legal wrangling so far already presents some interesting lessons....