MWAC Past Newsletter
September 5, 2008
U.S. SEEKS CLARITY ON RAPANOS RULING
The U.S. government, arguing that the lower courts have fallen into confusion and disagreement over federal power to protect wetlands, has urged the Supreme Court to make clear what it meant in the “highly fractured” ruling two years ago in Rapanos v. U.S. (04-1034) — a significant decision on the scope of the Clean Water Act. The Justice Department filed an appeal Thursday on that issue in U.S. v. McWane, Inc., et al. (docket 08-223). –
Scotus Blog, August 25, 2008 Click here to read the entire blog.
CLEARER RULES, CLEANER WATER
The 1972 Clean Water Act was designed to protect all the waters and wetlands of the United States: large and small, navigable and seasonal. That clear mission has since been muddied by the Supreme Court, exposing thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands to pollution and damaging development. That is why Congress needs to move quickly to approve the Clean Water Restoration Act — a bill that would reaffirm the broad federal protections that it intended more than 30 years ago. There is not a lot of time left in the legislative calendar, but both chambers have held hearings, and a lot is at stake. -Editorial,
The New York Times, August 17, 2008 Click here to read the entire editorial.
EPA DUMPS THE PUMPS
For only the 12th time in the agency's history, EPA has exercised its authority under the Clean Water Act (Section 404(c)) to veto a project for its unacceptable adverse effects on fisheries and wildlife. EPA completed its Clean Water Act Veto of the Corps of Engineers' controversial Yazoo Backwater Pumps project by issuing a 'Final Determination' on August 31, and announced it on Sept. 2nd. This project, which was first authorized over 60 years ago (in 1941), has persisted as a major threat to Mississippi Delta wetlands ever since.
Proposed to be located just north of Vicksburg, MS, the Yazoo Pumps would drain and damage more than 200,000 acres (or 314 sq. miles) of hemispherically critical wetlands, while costing taxpayers more than $220 million. EPA's veto comes as welcome news to more than 45,000 members of the public who commented in May to EPA in support of the veto, and to many residents living in the project area who are fighting for a healthy and sustainable way of life. Only 0.1% of the comments EPA received opposed the veto, according to EPA.
-Corps Reform Network
EPA's Final Determination: www.epa.gov/404c EPA's
Press Release: EPA Decision Protects 67,000 Acres of Mississippi Wetlands