SCOTUS Sackett ruling guts Biden Waters of the US rule sharply narrows Clean Water Act protections

The Supreme Court rules 9-0 (with five justices in a controlling concurrence) in Sackett v. EPA that the Clean Water Act protects only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to navigable waters, dramatically narrowing federal wetland and waterway protections. The Biden EPA had finalized a new WOTUS rule in January 2023 using the broader "notable nexus" test. The Sackett ruling effectively invalidates main portions of the Biden rule and requires a new, more limited definition. The ruling reduces federal protections for approximately half of the nation's wetlands and 51% of stream miles that had been covered under prior interpretation. Environmental groups call it the most damaging Clean Water Act ruling in history.