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1 1 (March 11, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefjz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ *Research Service Supreme Court Revisits Scope of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Under the Clean Water Act March 11, 2022 On January 24, 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to review Sackett v. EPA, a long-running dispute regarding whether certain wetlands are waters of the United States (WOTUS) subject to protection under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In Sackett, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) assertion of jurisdiction over certain wetlands because the wetlands are WOTUS under a standard described in a prior Supreme Court decision. The precise definition of WOTUS is important because it determines which waters are subject to federal government regulations and protections. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and EPA-the two agencies tasked with implementing the CWA-use the definition of WOTUS to determine which water bodies are subject to a variety of requirements under the statute, including coverage in CWA permitting programs. The Corps and EPA are also currently undertaking an administrative process to redefine WOTUS through two rulemakings. (See this report for an in-depth discussion of the history and evolution of WOTUS, and this report for a discussion of regulatory actions in the Trump Administration and the early part of the Biden Administration.) Depending on its timing and scope, the Sackett ruling could affect how the agencies shape those regulations. This Sidebar discusses the history of Supreme Court litigation addressing the definition ofWOTUS, examines potential implications of the Supreme Court's ruling in Sackett, and reviews legislative and executive branch efforts to define WOTUS. Prior Supreme Court Rulings Regarding WOTUS The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging certain pollutants into navigable waters, defined as the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas without a permit. The statute does not define WOTUS. For decades, Congress, the courts, stakeholders, and the Corps and EPA have debated how to define the term, and how to interpret the scope of waters that are federally regulated. The Supreme Court has considered the scope ofWOTUS in three cases. In 1985, the Court in United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. upheld the Corps' interpretation that CWA jurisdiction extended Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10707 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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