"The future of federal jurisdiction over waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act hinges on a watershed US Supreme Court case scheduled for oral arguments Monday—the first case on the high court’s fall docket.
Protections for countless wetlands and ephemeral streams nationwide are being debated in Sackett v. EPA, which grapples with whether a long-standing test for federal jurisdiction over tributaries to large streams and rivers is constitutional.
The court is widely expected to narrow the definition of waters under federal jurisdiction—known as waters of the US, or WOTUS—under the Clean Water Act.
The case will dictate the ability of developers to build in wetlands that are not permanent standing or flowing bodies of water and have no direct surface connection with large rivers or lakes, said Melissa Reynolds, an associate at Holland & Hart LLP in Salt Lake City."
Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment September 30, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"Supreme Court To Hear High-Stakes Challenge To Clean Water Act" (Washington Post)
"5 Ways The Supreme Court Could Transform Water Policy" (E&E News)
