{"id":259288,"date":"2023-05-27T15:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T13:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=259288"},"modified":"2023-05-27T15:42:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T13:42:27","slug":"unanimous-supreme-court-ruling-delivers-blow-to-bidens-wotus-regs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=259288","title":{"rendered":"Unanimous Supreme Court Ruling Delivers Blow To Biden\u2019s WOTUS Regs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Climate Change Dispatch<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0THOMAS CATENACCI<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling narrowing the federal government\u2019s authority to regulate bodies of water and effectively upending a Biden administration policy<\/a> that recently went into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high court\u2019s decision, which was delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, rejected the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA)<\/a> broad definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS)<\/strong>. [emphasis, links added]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case centered<\/strong> on Michael and Chantell Sackett, two Idaho residents whom the<\/strong> EPA prohibited from building a home near a wetland years ago<\/strong>, citing the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EPA ordered the Sacketts to restore the site, threatening penalties of over $40,000 per day<\/strong>,\u201d Alito\u2019s majority opinion stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EPA classified the wetlands on the Sacketts\u2019 lot as \u2018waters of the United States\u2019 because they were near a ditch that fed into a creek<\/strong>, which fed into Priest Lake<\/strong>, a navigable, intrastate lake<\/strong>. The Sacketts sued, alleging that their property was not \u2018waters of the United States.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling ultimately held that the\u00a0federal government\u2019s\u00a0WOTUS definition<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0must be\u00a0restricted to a water source with a \u201ccontinuous surface connection\u201d to major bodies of water.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the decision was unanimous<\/strong> on the merits, the court split 5-4<\/strong> on determining how the federal government<\/strong> should go about defining water sources.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderstanding the CWA to apply to wetlands that are distinguishable from otherwise covered \u2018waters of the United States\u2019 would substantially broaden [existing statute] to define \u2018navigable waters\u2019 as \u2018waters of the United States and adjacent wetlands<\/strong>,’\u201d Alito wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling<\/strong>, which was cheered by Republican lawmakers and groups representing landowners, comes months after the EPA finalized and implemented a new WOTUS regulation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Dec. 30, the final working day of 2022, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers quietly announced that they had approved the WOTUS regulation<\/u><\/a> and that it would be implemented in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After announcing it, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the rule \u201csafeguards our nation\u2019s waters.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rule opened the door<\/a> for the federal government to regulate wetlands, lakes, ponds, streams, and \u201crelatively permanent\u201d waterways, largely mimicking a pre-2015 environmental rule set during the Obama administration<\/strong> that implemented the changes in an effort to curb water pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regulation was the broadest interpretation to date<\/strong> of which water sources require protection under the CWA.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry groups, Republican lawmakers in Congress, and multiple states blasted the regulation as an example of federal overreach<\/strong> and demanded that it be rescinded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, a federal judge granted a request from 24 states<\/strong> and several trade groups to pause the implementation of the regulation<\/strong>. The House and Senate both approved a regulation rejecting the regulation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, the Supreme Court sent a loud and clear warning shot to the Biden administration<\/strong> about its attempts to overregulate the lives of millions of Americans<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy rejecting the \u2018significant nexus\u2019 test, the Court protected America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, builders, and landowners<\/strong> from overreach under the Clean Water Act<\/a>, and ruled President Biden\u2019s recent WOTUS rule goes too far<\/strong>,\u201d Capito added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was proud to both support the petitioners on this case last year and lead a successful effort this year in Congress to overturn the Biden WOTUS rule<\/strong> and am thrilled with the Court\u2019s decision today<\/strong>, which is a major win for individual freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read rest at Fox News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling narrowing the federal government\u2019s authority to regulate bodies of water and effectively\u00a0upending a Biden administration policy\u00a0that recently went into effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":259383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818073,691818205,691818670],"class_list":["post-259288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-epa","tag-joe-biden","tag-supreme-court","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0The-Supreme-Court-Delivered-a-Huge-Blow-to-Joe-Biden-That-Left-Him-Stunned-e1621627803828.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-15s4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":270970,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=270970","url_meta":{"origin":259288,"position":0},"title":"Biden officials plot next WOTUS move after Supreme Court ruling","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Still smarting over the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s May 25 ruling in\u00a0Sacket v. 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