The Supreme Court in May sharply curtailed the Clean Water Act's power to protect millions of acres of wetlands.
expanded the ability of farmers, homebuilders and other developers to dig up or fill wetlands, finding the federal government had long overreached in limiting such activities. It’s the latest decision by a conservative-dominated court to limit environment laws and agency powers. With little appetite in a divided Congress to pass environmental laws, the outcome is likely to endure.
“We are going to see a lot of devastation,” said Gisler of the Southern Environmental Law Center. “People who bought new homes, moving to North Carolina to embrace the coastal lifestyle, at some point in the next few years are likely to see their homes flooded.” But more is at stake, said Curtis Richardson, director of the Duke University Wetland Center and a professor of resource ecology. Thousands of the state’s wetlands — oval depressions known as Carolina bays, pocosin bogs with sandy peat soil and woodsy shrubs — are formed by rainfall or groundwater and have no connection to surface waters. And Richardson said the Supreme Court ruling — and now the new state requirement not to exceed federal standards — leaves them vulnerable.
Many of those states have Republican-majority legislatures and are concentrated in the Great Plains and South. A group of Democrat-led states in the Northeast and along the Pacific Coast have crafted their own wetlands standards. The Sackett decision will have less effect there. It could prompt regulatory cutbacks in the Southwest, where many wetlands are seasonal and have no direct link to a surface water, said Shawn Zovod, a San Francisco-based regulatory compliance attorney who represents developers.
“Those are important parts of our economy and recreational opportunities” said Nicole Rowan, director of the water quality control division at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.Michael Altman, manager of federal regulatory affairs at the trade group Associated Builders and Contractors, said the Sackett decision not only protects fewer wetlands but also makes it easier for developers to determine ones that can be disturbed only with a permit.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court
Weiterlesen »
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court.
Weiterlesen »
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court
Weiterlesen »
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court
Weiterlesen »
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court.
Weiterlesen »
US Supreme Court Justice Barrett says she welcomes public scrutiny of courtU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told attendees at a judicial conference in Wisconsin on Monday that she welcomed public scrutiny of the court.
Weiterlesen »