The Supreme Court voted to rein in the power of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate wetlands in a ruling issued on May 25, the latest in a series of rulings curbing federal regulatory authority.
The nation’s High Court ruled in favor of an Idaho couple who have been battling federal officials for years over the right to develop their own property.
The case, Sackett v. EPA (court file 21-454), was argued on Oct. 3, 2022.
The court’s majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito.
Chantell and Mike Sackett had started building a new home in Priest Lake, Idaho, when the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers suddenly ordered them to stop all work.
The two government agencies stated that the couple needed a federal permit and threatened them with more than $30,000 in daily fines.
The EPA had determined years before that their parcel of land contained wetlands. The Sacketts say their