The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Sackett v. EPA, a case over what exactly are the “waters of the United States.” The case, among the first heard by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, could have major implications for the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
“Big polluters, like the oil and gas industry and coal companies, want people to think this is all about some legal definition of an obscure word. It is not. This is about our ability to protect clean water now and for generations to come,” LCV senior VP Tiernan Sittenfeld told reporters outside the Supreme Court. The Court and its conservative supermajority could continue or even accelerate its revision of American society this term, with upcoming cases on voting rights, state politicians’ ability to meddle in federal elections, affirmative action, whether businesses can discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, and more. (E&E News, Washington Post $, Vox, Politico Pro $, Reuters, E&E $, New York Times $; Upcoming Term: New York Times $, Boston Globe $, NewsOne)