...developers pitted against environmentalists and the government in their attempts to interpret the reach of water regulation in the United States. The outcome should further delineate what constitutes an isolated wetland and whether isolated wetlands should be managed under state or federal regulations. A decision is expected this summer.

Rapanos and Carabell: The Wetlands Cases Recently Heard by the U.S. Supreme Court

The fate of roughly half the remaining wetlands in the United States is in limbo as the Supreme Court re-examines the reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA). In February, the high court heard arguments in two similar cases brought by developers wishing to build on isolated wetland areas they own. Neither situation fits squarely within precedent determinations set by the Court in previous landmark wetlands cases, so armed with two new voices, the Court once again sets out to establish the bounds of the CWA in relation to isolated wetlands.

The issues in the current cases are similar, but not exactly the same. The issue before the Court in Rapanos v. United States is whether the federal government can use the CWA to restrict development on isolated wetlands adjacent to tributaries of navigable waters to protect water quality. The issue in Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is whether the federal government can use the CWA to restrict development on wetlands hydrologically isolated from tributaries of navigable waters by an earthen berm.

The government's position is that the CWA allows...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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