The Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday removing federal protections for vast numbers of streams and wetlands will expedite commercial and residential development across the US while mostly scrapping long-contested Clean Water Act regulations, according to environmental attorneys.
The unanimous, though divided, ruling in Sackett v. EPA effectively eliminates the federal government’s role in regulating many wetlands nationwide, leaving it to the states to protect wetlands that are not directly connected to large rivers, streams, and coastlines, the attorneys said.
“The protections that apply to a particular wetland will now vary, potentially significantly, based on where they are located across the ...