Pivotal Supreme Court Term Begins With WOTUS War

Bracewell’s Ann Navaro recently discussed with E&E News the significance of the Supreme Court hearing arguments in the landmark Clean Water Act case Sackett v. EPA when the new term opens Monday.

Navaro said that the Sackett wetland is particularly interesting because it has been considered jurisdictional under many definitions of the waters of the United States (WOTUS). The decision by the justices to take up the case is “giving some folks reason to believe the Supreme Court may be ready to make a move to change the way the Clean Water Act has been interpreted,” she said.

The case has the potential to limit safeguards for the nation’s wetlands and is one of many battles that court watchers largely agree would not have been granted before the Supreme Court’s conservative majority grew from five justices to six.

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