Supreme Court ruling eliminates protections from vast areas of wetlands
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May 26, 2023
Charlie Riedel, Associated Press file
FILE - A road bisects a wetland on June 20, 2019, near Kulm, N.D. The Supreme Court has made it harder for the federal government to police water pollution. The decision from the court on Thursday, May 25, 2023, strips protections from wetlands that are isolated from larger bodies of water. It's the second ruling in as many years in which a conservative majority has narrowed the reach of environmental regulations.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday eliminated federal protections for vast numbers of the nation's wetlands, setting the stage for their conversion to farm fields and urban development.
The effect could be blunted for Minnesota's 10 million acres of wetlands because of state conservation laws. But the effects of lost wetlands elsewhere could be felt here in the impact on migratory birds and water quality.
The nation's highest court ruled that federal Clean Water Act protections only apply to wetlands with a "continuous surface connection" to bodies of water already deemed waters of the United States. That means more isolated wetlands will no longer be protected, and parties seeking to dredge or fill them would no longer be required to get a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.
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