Ripple effects of SCOTUS’ wetland ruling threaten quality of nation’s water

In May 2023, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled in<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"> Sackett v. EPA</a> that the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) cannot regulate pollutant discharges to wetlands that don’t have continuous surface water connections with the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The waters that constitute WOTUS are more commonly referred to as surface waters, including lakes and rivers, which are primarily governed under the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Clean Water Act</a> (CWA). However, the consequences of this ruling could impact other US water policies typically seen as unrelated to wetlands, such as the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-safe-drinking-water-act" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Safe Drinking Water Act</a> (SDWA), consequently creating new burdens on communities as they attempt to comply with existing law. This case — and the institutional dilemma at its heart — highlight the need to better attend to interlinkages between public policies and the potential unintended consequences of policy change. <a href="https://medium.com/3streams/the-ripple-effects-of-scotus-wetland-ruling-2995e2d3058b">Click Here</a>