The Water and Wetlands Stewards have long been concerned about possible Supreme Court actions on the scope of the Clean Water Act. On May 25th, their worst fears were confirmed with a decision in the case Sackett v. EPA. This case sets a precedent that will endanger millions of acres of wetlands protected by the 1972 Clean Water Act. Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous responded to the ruling by pointing out that it is “profoundly wrong and directly at odds with the statute Congress enacted 50 years ago – a statute the public supported then and continues to support today. Access to clean, safe, reliable water is a human right, and it is deeply disappointing that the Court has sided with polluters and industry to roll back the clock on clean water protections.”
The Clean Water Act provided for protection of the “waters of the United States” (typically referred to as WOTUS). According to John Devine, director of the water policy team at the Natural Resources Defense Council, “WOTUS included “all the relevant parts of an aquatic ecosystem, including streams, wetlands, and small ponds-things that aren't necessarily connected to the tributary system on the surface, but still bear all kinds of ecological relationships to that system and to one another.” The SCOTUS ruling codifies a narrow view of the Clean Water Act that insists that wetlands have a continuous surface connection to navigable waters “making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.”
Although this is discouraging news, the Stewards intend to continue advocating for our precious water, both statewide and nationally. Check the chapter calendar for the team’s monthly meeting schedule; there are many ways to be involved.