ESA Statement on the Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court Ruling: Losses to Wetlands and Ecosystem and Human Health

The Ecological Society of America (ESA), representing 8,000 research ecologists and environmental scientists, is greatly concerned about the unintended consequences to nature and human health because of the United States Supreme Court decision in the Sackett v. EPA case that excludes the majority of wetlands from protection under the Clean Water Act. The ruling ignores the best available science and poses a huge threat to vital streams and wetlands that support biodiversity and contribute to human health.

ESA joined other scientific societies in an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court arguing for strong Clean Water Act protections. The Clean Water Act’s mandate to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters is inherently founded on science and can only be achieved through the consideration of science. This court ruling threatens the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to meet the mandate of the Clean Water Act and ignores decades of scientific evidence showing the interconnectedness of aquatic ecosystems.

Congress should and must act to ensure that the Clean Water Act can meet the mandate of the law to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the United States’ waters and preserve drinkable, fishable and swimmable waters that support a wide variety of life.

More Information:

Link to Amicus brief that ESA joined to submit to the Supreme Court in the Sackett Case, https://esa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/6_30_2022-amicus-curiae-1.pdf

Article written by Royal Gardner, attorney of record for the Amicus Brief,  The US Supreme Court has gutted federal protection for wetlands — now what?