Supreme Court limits EPA protection for wetlands, ruling for 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.

“We hold that the CWA extends to only those ‘wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are waters of the United States in their own right,’ so that they are ‘indistinguishable’ from those waters,” said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. for the conservative majority. West Virginia Atty. Gen. Patrick Morrisey welcomed the ruling. “We now have a clearer definition for ‘waters of the United States,’ and we’re pleased the Supreme Court ruled in a way that state lands and waters are less subject to the whims of unelected bureaucrats,” he said. “Today is a big day for farmers, home builders, contractors, property owners and those who care about economic activity not being subject to overreach by the federal government.

Thursday’s decision effectively overturns a moderate position set by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy in 2006. He said the law should protect marshy areas or dry creek beds that sometimes send water flowing into a river or bay. He rejected Scalia’s view that the EPA could protect only continuously flowing bodies of water.

Because water flows downhill, environmental regulators said they needed broad authority to prevent discharges into small streams or wetlands that drain into waterways. The prohibited pollutants included gravel and sand, which cannot be dumped into wetlands without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers or the EPA.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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