US Supreme Court rolls back federal safeguards for wetlands under Clean Water Act

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UngulateNerd92

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The Supreme Court on Thursday cut back on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, with a 5-4 majority continuing a trend in which the conservative-leaning court has narrowed the reach of environmental regulations.

The Clean Water Act extends only to those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are waters of the United States in their own rights,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority.

The decision is a victory for Chantell and Michael Sackett, who purchased a vacant lot near Idaho’s Priest Lake. Three years later they broke ground, hoping to build a family home, but soon got entangled in a regulatory dispute. As they began backfilling the property with 1,700 cubic yards of sand and gravel to create a stable grade, the EPA sent them an order halting construction.

“The wetlands on the Sackett property are distinguishable from any possibly covered waters,” Alito wrote, because they are not directly connected to them. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett joined Alito’s opinion.

Alito said that the wetland had to have a “continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the water ends and the wetland begins.”

Supreme Court rolls back federal safeguards for wetlands under Clean Water Act | CNN Politics
 
Here is another relevant article.

Supreme Court Weakens Clean Water Act Protections

Generations will face repercussions of Court’s decision to eliminate protections for more than half of 118 million acres of wetlands.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Sackett v U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, re-interpreting the Clean Water Act to eliminate longstanding protections for millions of acres of wetlands. Five Justices on this new conservative Court narrowed the definition of “waters of the United States” — often referred to as “WOTUS” — limiting the reach of the Act, one of the most successful, effective, and widely supported pieces of legislation ever codified in the United States.

Supreme Court Weakens Clean Water Act Protections
 
Here is another relevant article. This shines light on why private property rights are not a priority issue for me.

Supreme Court limits EPA protection for wetlands, favoring property rights over clean water

The Supreme Court on Thursday limited federal protection for millions of acres of U.S. wetlands, ruling for property rights over clean water.

In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Water Act does not forbid developing marshy areas or dry creek beds because water does not flow regularly and directly from them into a river, lake or bay.

Supreme Court limits EPA protection for wetlands, favoring property rights over clean water
 
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Here is another relevant article.

Ranchers hail, environmentalists fear Supreme Court clean water ruling

Ranchers and Republican lawmakers are welcoming a Supreme Court ruling that narrows the range of waters subject to federal regulation, calling it a win for private property rights that reins in overeager regulators.

“It’s very difficult to navigate federal processes, very difficult. And it seems particularly silly in a case where you’re getting a permit for water that’s almost never there,” said Jeff Eisenberg, director of policy for the Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association, of the costly and cumbersome process of getting government permits.

But environmental groups said the ruling in Sackett v. EPA will be “disastrous for Arizona, where water is rare and protecting it is critically important to both people and endangered species.”

Ranchers hail, environmentalists fear Supreme Court clean water ruling - Cronkite News - Arizona PBS
 
Here is another relevant article.

Supreme Court Decision Threatens Waterways that Birds (and People) Need

The Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency removes crucial protections for wetlands, limiting the Clean Water Act.

“This Supreme Court ruling weakens our federal standards for clean water, threatening our ability to protect ecosystems and landscapes needed for birds and communities across the country,” said Julie Hill-Gabriel, Audubon’s Vice President for Water Conservation. “Federal experts will no longer be able to require certain development permits in America’s decimated wetlands. This decision undermines Clean Water Act protections for many types of waterways that birds and people need, all while birds are telling us that more action is needed to protect their future.”

https://www.audubon.org/news/suprem...m_medium=social&utm_campaign=20230500_nas_eng
 
Here is another relevant article.

Supreme Court Ruling Caters to Polluters, Makes Waters Dirtier for People and Parks

"The Environmental Protection Agency was created more than 50 years ago to protect human health and our environment from known pollution and today their hands are tied by the Court ignoring America’s overwhelming support for more protections – not less." NPCA's Chad Lord

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a pivotal clean water case, Sackett vs. EPA, setting an overly narrow test for determining when wetlands are “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. The narrow interpretation now supported by the highest court will remove Clean Water Act protections for the majority of wetlands in the United States. This is detrimental to national parks where two-thirds of park waters are already impaired, with much of this pollution linked to out-of-park upstream activities.

The National Parks Conservation Association joined partners at American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Izaak Walton League, National Wildlife Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited and filed an amicus brief in the Sackett case arguing for stronger water protections for people, our national parks and the prized wildlife that live there.

Supreme Court Ruling Caters to Polluters, Makes Waters Dirtier for People and Parks
 
Here is another relevant article.

Supreme Court Guts Clean Water Act as Conservative Justices Side with Polluters and Developers

We look at how a new Supreme Court ruling awards a major victory to polluters and land developers. In a 5-4 decision last week, the justices sharply limited the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect and preserve wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The ruling ends protections for about half of all the wetlands in the contiguous United States, jeopardizing access to safe drinking water for millions. “That just defies science, physics, commonsense,” says Earthjustice’s Sam Sankar, who urges Congress to take action to once again protect the country’s critical water resources.

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/5...ZxuKPUqoyB1EVQr4ZLU8dWLfMEjlCXi4c0u1DiBAslQlo
 
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