EPA Weakens Protections for Wetlands and Streams

EPA Weakens Protections for Wetlands and Streams

This week, the federal Environmental Protection Agency released new rules for the regulation of many of the wetlands, streams and seasonal creeks throughout the United States in order to ensure conformity with a recent US Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act.

Sackett v. EPA decision on Clean Water Act

Today, the Supreme Court rolled back protections under the Clean Water Act (CWA) by severely limiting the interpretation that adjacent wetlands will be protected and considered “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) except in extremely limited circumstances. For...
Supreme Court Narrows Clean Water Act

Supreme Court Narrows Clean Water Act

The Supreme Court today issued a decision that significantly narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act protection of wetlands adjacent to rivers. The Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that only wetlands that have a “continuous...