May 25, 2023
Decided May 25, 2023
Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454
Today, the Supreme Court held that the Clean Water Act covers only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to other covered waters.
Background: Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA has jurisdiction over “navigable waters,” which are defined as “the waters of the United States.” The Sacketts purchased property containing wetlands that were separated by a road from a tributary that eventually fed into a traditionally navigable intrastate lake. After the Sacketts made certain improvements to the property, the EPA determined that they violated the Clean Water Act by discharging fill material into those wetlands without a permit.
The Sacketts sued, alleging that the EPA lacked jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act because any wetlands on their property were not “waters of the United States.” The district court granted summary judgment to the EPA, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Applying the test set forth in Justice Kennedy’s opinion concurring in the judgment in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006), the court determined that the wetlands on the Sacketts’ property, together with wetlands across the road, were “waters of the United States” subject to the EPA’s jurisdiction because they had a “significant nexus” to a traditionally navigable water.
Issue: Whether the Ninth Circuit set forth the proper test for determining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act.
Court’s Holding:
No. The Clean Water Act covers wetlands only if they have a continuous surface connection to bodies of water that are “waters of the United States” in their own right, such that the wetlands are indistinguishable from those waters.
“[T]he CWA extends to only those ‘wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are “waters of the United States” in their own right . . . .’”
Justice Alito, writing for the Court
What It Means:
The Court’s opinion is available here.
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