A recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States could have a major impact on wetlands across the country and maybe even here in Florida.
Some people are worried it could lead to more development and construction on wetlands.
Sackett v EPA
The case started out with the Sackett family backfilling their lot in Idaho. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told them it violated the Clean Water Act, which prohibits discharging pollutants into the “waters of the United States.” Lower courts sided with the Feds, but last month the EPA lost in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court majority wrote that the Clean Water Act only applies to wetlands that have a “continuous surface connection” to larger bodies of water. That means about half of all wetlands in the contiguous US are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act.
To talk about the case and what it could mean for Florida, we spoke with land use, environmental and property rights attorney Dave Smolker.
Listen to the full show here:
Listen to the oral arguments in Sackett v EPA here, via C-SPAN.
Watch the show here:
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