EPA on Standby as Supreme Court Reconsiders WOTUS Rulings
Supreme Court justices said earlier this week they will consider a 15-year-long Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) issue involving a couple — the Sacketts — from Idaho who previously pleaded and won a case regarding their building a home near Priest Lake.
EPA says the half-acre lot the couple built their home on contains wetlands, placing the land under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. Therefore, the Sacketts would have required a permit to build on the land.
The Sacketts have since filed a petition, disputing the EPA’s determination that the lot is considered wetland. The Pacific Legal Foundation has chosen to represent the couple to show their support — along with 21 states, various businesses and interest groups.
Damien Schiff, Pacific Legal Foundation Lawyer, says the case is emblematic of the wrongdoings in the Clean Water Act. Of the half-acre lot, he says, “It lacks a surface water connection to any stream, creek, lake or other water body, and it shouldn’t be subject to federal regulation and permitting.”
Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president, commented on the U.S. Supreme Court decision saying the group is pleased with the WOTUS issue being taken up in court once more:
“Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with, but they shouldn’t need a team of lawyers to farm their land,” he says. “We call on EPA to push pause on its plan to write a new WOTUS rule until it has more guidance on which waters fall under federal jurisdiction.”
On Dec. 7, 2021, EPA and the Department of the Army announced a proposed rule to revise the definition of the “waters of the U.S.,” with intent to reestablish the pre-2015 definition.
The AFBF suggests EPA halt their plan to rewrite WOTUS until it has more guidance in deciding which waters are categorized under the federal jurisdiction.
Read more:
> The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are seeking comment on the pre-2015 WOTUS rule published in the Federal Register.
> In early May of 2020, the Biden Administration unveiled the name and additional details of the plan to conserve 30% of U.S. land and water by the year 2030.
