Returning to Troubled Waters, The Supreme Court’s Path Begins
The Supreme Court is considering the Clean Water Act’s troubled definition of navigable waters in the case, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (Docket No. 21-454; Gerstein, October 3, 2022). As discussed previously, the case represents yet another attempt by the Supreme Court to interpret the Clean Water Act in a dispute involving wetlands (farmdoc daily, October 13, 2022). This article looks at the progression of Supreme Court decisions on defining the term “navigable waters” in the statute, adding to previous reviews of the Clean Water Act (see e.g., farmdoc daily, April 3, 2019; March 21, 2019; April 6, 2017; February 9, 2017; March 24, 2016).
Background: In brief review, the Sacketts, who operate a commercial construction and excavation business, purchased a vacant lot (0.63 acres) in a residential subdivision of Priest Lake, in 2004. Prior to their purchase, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) had determined that the property contained wetlands that were subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction and informed the owner of the property. In 2007, the Sackets began to fill the wetlands to prepare the lot for construction without a permit and then sued EPA in 2008. The district court granted EPA’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but reversed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the district court in 2012 and the parties litigated the matter for the next seven years. In 2019, the district court entered summary judgment for EPA, the Sacketts appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the district court’s decision (see, Sacket v. EPA, 566 U.S. 120 (2012); Sackett v. EPA, 8 F.4th 1075 (9th Circuit, 2021)). It is that decision that is before the Supreme Court for the second time in more than a dozen years of litigation (farmdoc daily, October 13, 2022).
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Background: In brief review, the Sacketts, who operate a commercial construction and excavation business, purchased a vacant lot (0.63 acres) in a residential subdivision of Priest Lake, in 2004. Prior to their purchase, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) had determined that the property contained wetlands that were subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction and informed the owner of the property. In 2007, the Sackets began to fill the wetlands to prepare the lot for construction without a permit and then sued EPA in 2008. The district court granted EPA’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but reversed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the district court in 2012 and the parties litigated the matter for the next seven years. In 2019, the district court entered summary judgment for EPA, the Sacketts appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the district court’s decision (see, Sacket v. EPA, 566 U.S. 120 (2012); Sackett v. EPA, 8 F.4th 1075 (9th Circuit, 2021)). It is that decision that is before the Supreme Court for the second time in more than a dozen years of litigation (farmdoc daily, October 13, 2022).
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