In a case that could have broad impact in Ohio and around the country, the nation’s highest court heard arguments Monday in a dispute over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s jurisdiction over wetlands that drain into navigable waters.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday weighed legality of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's procedure for determining whether it has jurisdiction over particular wetlands.WASHINGTON, D. C. -
“Huge progress has been made in protecting this nation’s waters, but polluting and filling still threaten to destroy wetlands and other waters that provide valuable services to fisheries, wildlife, recreation, health, and drinking water,” said the brief that Kaptur and Brown signed. “The resolution of this matter could have a profound impact on whether that progress is sustained.”
During the first case heard after Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the court, the justices grilled attorneys for each side on how EPA decides whether a waterway is regulated under the Clean Water Act and how it makes sure those decisions are fair to property owners. He said wetlands governed under the Clean Water Act must have “significant effect on the downstream navigable waters,” which makes it harder to include wetlands adjacent only to tributaries. He said ditches, uplands and small erosional features are not covered by the regulations. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gives property owners free opinions on whether their lands are regulated, which property owners can challenge in court, Fletcher said.
Interests associated with property owners weighed in on the Sacketts’ behalf. A brief from more than a dozen state farm bureau’s, including Ohio’s, says that in the decades since the Clean Water Act’s enactment, the federal government has tried to increase its authority by regulating features that “are wholly intrastate and that often are not recognizable as water bodies at all,” resulting in a regulatory system that harms farmers and doesn’t comport with Congress’ original intent.
“This case presents an opportunity for the Court to finally put the genie back in the bottle,” said the brief signed by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and U.S. Reps. Bob Gibbs of Holmes County, Jim Jordan of Champaign County, Bob Latta of Bowling Green, Steve Chabot of Cincinnati and Bill Johnson of Marietta.
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