06/01/2026
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which moved to redefine which waters receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The 2023 Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA opened this door by narrowing federal jurisdiction to only those wetlands with a “continuous surface connection” to larger bodies of water. The decision was widely condemned by the scientific community for ignoring the fundamental reality of hydrology:
Wetlands are some of the US’s most valuable and endangered environments. It’s now up to local action to preserve them.