Reflections on Sackett - Reflections on Water Podcast
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Sackett case in May of 2023, the U.S. EPA (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps (“Army Corps”) have amended federal regulations to conform to Sackett and the Army Corps has resumed...more
One hundred eighteen Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives (“House”) introduced legislation titled: Clean Water Act of 2023(H.R. 5983) The stated purpose of H.R. 5983 is to address the...more
Following years of administrative rulemaking and litigation, on September 8, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released a revision to the definition of waters of the United...more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers recently announced a revised and final rule amending the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) following the Supreme Court decision in Sackett v....more
On Aug. 29, 2023, the Biden administration issued a prepublication version of yet another final Clean Water Act rule (“Conforming Rule”) revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) in response to the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in Sackett v. EPA that established a stricter test for whether the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to a wetland. The test limits federal jurisdiction to wetlands with a...more
On June 26, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced their intent to amend the Biden administration’s January 2023 waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and...more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on a long-standing controversy over the extent to which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE; collectively, the Agencies) have...more
In a 5-4 decision issued on May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the applicability of federal Clean Water Act regulatory authority over wetlands that have a relatively permanent connection to other federal waters....more
On May 25, 2023, after more than 15 years of fighting, a couple contesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s assertion of jurisdiction over their residential lot as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean...more
On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the term “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”)—as used in the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7)—means “streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes” and...more
After many decades of uncertainty around the meaning of “the waters of the United States” (WOTUS), the United States Supreme Court narrowed the definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in its opinion on May 25,...more
Following years of administrative rulemaking and litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court published a much-anticipated decision interpreting what is a water of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). On May 25,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its opinion in the landmark Clean Water Act (“CWA”) case of Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454 (May 25, 2023). This decision delivers a significant change in terms of the reach and jurisdiction of...more
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Sackett v. EPA,effectively narrowing the scope of federally protected wetlands to which the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies. The CWA provides the U.S. Army Corp of...more
In a 9-0 ruling published on May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the U.S. EPA’s and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE's) use of the expansive “significant nexus” test to assert authority over adjacent wetlands as...more
The Supreme Court ends protection for most wetlands in the United States... In a sweeping decision, the Supreme Court last week eliminated federal protection for more than half the wetlands in the United States. (Sackett...more
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the scope of regulatory powers applicable to wetlands and issued a more clear definition of...more
Five Justices of our nation's highest court have now provided a definition of "Waters of the United States" that will be binding on the Executive and Judicial Branches at least until Congress says otherwise. As Justice...more
The Supreme Court clarified the scope of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in a long-awaited decision regarding which wetlands are subject to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Declining to exercise...more
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court introduced a new test to determine whether wetlands are subject to Clean Water Act regulation - the “continuous surface connection” test – and in doing so rejected the seventeen-year-old...more
U.S. Supreme Court Articulates New Test for Determining Whether Wetlands Are Protected Under the Clean Water Act - On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA clarified the scope of the “waters of the United...more
For the first time in modern history, the scope of federal regulation of wetlands and waters is strikingly clear . . . and narrow. In Sackett v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court drew the brightest and most narrow regulatory...more
On May 25, the Court issued a ruling adopting late Justice Scalia’s “continuous surface connection” test for determining jurisdictional waters under the Clean Water Act. The Court’s ruling in Sackett is a decisive shift...more
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Sackett v. EPA, clarifying and narrowing the reach of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). For decades, confusion has persisted...more