Divided High Court Narrows Clean Water Act’s Reach Over Wetlands In Sackett

The Supreme Court has narrowed the reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA) over wetlands, holding in a 5-4 decision that only wetlands that are “indistinguishable” from adjacent jurisdictional waterbodies can be covered by the law -- effectively overturning wetlands provisions in the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule and casting doubt on other elements of the policy. The court’s May 25 decision in Sackett v. EPA generally endorses the long-controversial “continuous surface connection” test for...