North Carolina Cuts Wetland Rules as States Grapple With Sackett

North Carolina’s legislature has narrowed protections for state wetlands just one month after a US Supreme Court decision limited federal jurisdiction over waterways.

Under the state’s 2023 Farm Act, vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper but pushed through this week by a Republican supermajority, North Carolina agencies can only regulate wetlands that are considered waters of the United States under the federal Clean Water Act.

The measure follows the Supreme Court’s May 25 Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency decision, which ruled that wetlands are only subject to EPA regulation as waters of the US, or WOTUS, if they have a “continuous ...