Supreme Court cuts EPA's Clean Water Act protection for wetlands

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The Supreme Court significantly rolled back federal safeguards for wetlands under the Clean Water Act, siding with Idaho property owners in a decision that curbs EPA power.

May 25, 2023, 2:12 PMMichael and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake, Idaho, pose for a photo in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., Oct. 14, 2011. The Supreme Court made it harder for the federal government to police water pollution in a decision that strips protections from wetlands that are isolated from larger bodies of water.

The Clean Water Act of 1972 allows the government to set rules for pollution in "waters of the United States," but for years, the extent to which adjacent wetlands are covered by the law has been hotly debated and unclear. Jack and Jill Barron erected signs in protest to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determination that wetlands exist on their property at Priest Lake, Idaho, Nov 10, 2010."We hold that the [Clean Water Act] extends to only those wetlands that are as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States," Alito wrote.

MORE: Chief Justice John Roberts defends Supreme Court's 'highest standards of conduct,' offers no new rules Alito was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett in adopting the new, more stringent "continuous surface connection" standard for which wetlands are protected.

 

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