Army Corps Halts Federal Waters Decisions After Court Ruling

The Army Corps of Engineers has temporarily halted determining whether streams and wetlands proposed for development fall under federal jurisdiction as waters of the US following the Supreme Court’s May ruling, which limited the scope of federal wetlands protections.

The high court in Sackett v. EPA limited the wetlands and waterways that are protected as waters of the US, or WOTUS. The ruling rendered the Environmental Protection Agency’s expansive new WOTUS definition—finalized in January—unenforceable and potentially allows construction and pollution in vast swaths of wetlands across the country. The EPA on June 26 said it will revise the rule by ...