Muddied Waters: The Supreme Court and Wetlands Protection under the Clean Water Act

Environmental Studies Colloquium Series talk by Christopher Brooks, J.D., MELP, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy, University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The 2023 Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA dramatically limited the power of the federal government to protect wetlands under the Clean Water Act. A bombshell to environmentalists and a boon for property rights advocates, the Sackett decision is only the latest in a long string of cases interpreting the scope of jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. This talk traces the history of the saga of wetlands protection in the United States exploring the ongoing mismatch between Supreme Court jurisprudence and the ecological understanding of watersheds.

Christopher Brooks is an environmental attorney and educator with expertise in environmental law and conservation planning. His research and teaching focuses on environmental problems at the intersection of land use and water quality. Much of his recent work relates to the scope of jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and how federal court decisions and regulatory actions impact the protection of wetlands in the United States. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources, and lives in East Middlebury, VT with his wife and three children.