Supreme Court Can and Should Resolve ‘Waters of the United States’ Issue

 For decades, there has been major confusion regarding what waters are regulated under the Clean Water Act.

The United States Supreme Court can change this by agreeing to hear a case brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation. In its petition asking the court to hear the case, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pacific Legal Foundation presents a simple question: Should Rapanos v. United States be revisited to adopt the plurality opinion’s standard for regulated wetlands?

In 2006, the late Justice Antonin Scalia in Rapanos provided much-needed clarity on what waters are covered under the Clean Water Act, and specifically what waters, including wetlands, should be considered “waters of the United States” (informally known as WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act. This definition is extremely important because it clarifies what waters the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction over under the law.