Nearly 36 Million Hectares Of US Wetlands Could Be Stripped Of Federal Protections

That’s almost all of the nontidal wetlands in the country.

Holly Large
Jr Copy Editor & Staff Writer

Edited
by
Laura Simmons

Arecent Supreme Court ruling has seen calls for clarification after a study found that it could result in nearly all of the nontidal wetlands in the conterminous USA being stripped of federal protections.

The ruling in question was over Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case that concerned the scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA). This act brought wetlands within the extent of the “waters of the United States” or WOTUS, which are federally protected in order to restore or maintain their quality.

However, in May 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in the majority that the CWA only covers “wetlands that are ‘indistinguishable’ from [streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes]” such that “the wetland has a continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.”

This new definition, argues Adam Gold – who manages Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds in North Carolina and Virginia for the Environmental Defense Fund – in a new study, is “notably narrower than all previous interpretations” and “ignores robust scientific evidence showing the ecologic importance of wetlands.”

“Additionally, the court’s use of vague and subjective language creates unclear federal jurisdiction requirements for wetlands, and this raises the unresolved question posed by Justice Kavanaugh in his concurring opinion: How wet must a wetland be to have federal protections?”

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/nearly-36-million-hectares-of-us-wetlands-could-be-stripped-of-federal-protections-76132