The Supreme Court Just Gutted the Clean Water Act.
Industrial Agriculture is celebrating yesterday's ruling that puts millions of acres of wetlands and waterways at risk.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday to cut federal regulatory authority over wetlands, limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to oversee the federal Clean Water Act. The ruling is likely to expand water pollution risks in many parts of rural America.
The case itself, Sacket v. EPA, questioned the agency’s ability to penalize an Idaho couple building a home near a lake without a permit. The ruling effectively narrows EPA’s ability to protect and monitor wetlands and streams from pollution.
Industrial Agriculture is celebrating the ruling, with the Farm Bureau and checkoff-funded commodity groups such as the National Cattlemens Beef Association “rejoicing.”
“The EPA clearly overstepped its authority under the Clean Water Act by restricting private property owners from developing their land despite being far from the nearest navigable water,” said Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation President. “The justices respect private property rights.
“It’s now time for the Biden administration to do the same and rewrite the Waters of the United States Rule. Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with, but they deserve a rule that provides clarity and doesn’t require a team of attorneys to properly care for their land.”
Critics of the decision are also calling on the Biden Administration for support.
“The Biden administration and states must get creative and use every tool at their disposal to protect our rivers, streams, and wetlands from this devastating decision,” said Food & Water Watch Legal Director Tarah Heinzen in a statement. “We are outraged, though sadly not surprised, that this ultra-right-wing Supreme Court would choose to decimate long-standing common-sense protections for sensitive wetlands throughout the country.”
“Wetlands play an integral role in protecting downstream waterways and reducing flooding – which will only worsen as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent. Today’s decision rejects this established science in favor of corporate developers’ profiteering.”
Recent polling found that a supermajority of Americans believe in strengthening the Clean Water Act, not reducing regulations on polluters through the Sacket v. EPA case. A September 2022, Walton Family Foundation/Morning Consult Poll found that:
95% of Americans say that protecting the water in our nation's lakes, streams and rivers is important. Further, 79% want to strengthen or maintain current standards, while just 8% want to relax them.
88% agree that it is important that the EPA has the authority laid out in the Clean Water Act – such as restricting pollution entering our waters and limiting the destruction or physical damage to lakes, rivers, wetlands, streams and other waterways.
After a brief description of Sackett v. the Environmental Protection Agency, 75% of adults are supportive of protecting more waters and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
The decision will have impacts on the ongoing WOTUS rulemaking process as previously discussed in The Cocklebur. We will continue reporting on the Clean Water Act and its important role in protecting water, water quality, water infrastructure, and wildlife habitat throughout rural America.
The Cocklebur covers rural policy and politics from a progressive point-of-view. Our work focuses on a tangled rural political reality of dishonest debate, economic and racial disparities, corporate power over our democracy, and disinformation peddled by conservative media outlets. We aim to use facts, data, and science to inform our point-of-view. We wear our complicated love/WTF relationship with rural America on our sleeve.