Download or read book The U S Supreme Court Limits Federal Regulation of Wetlands written by Jennifer Ruffolo and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary available via the World Wide Web (scroll down to access title from chronological list),

Download or read book SWANCC Supreme Court Decision written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Wetlands Waterfowl and the Menace of Mr Wilson written by Jonathan H. Adler and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1970s the federal government has been involved in the regulation of wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Like most federal environmental programs, authority for this regulation is premised upon an expansive reading of the Commerce Clause. In 1995, however, the Supreme Court suggested that Congress' Commerce Clause power is limited, raising questions about the constitutional limits of federal environmental regulation. This article analyzes the Commerce Clause doctrines explicit and implicit in United States v. Lopez and the extent to which this decision should limit federal wetlands regulation. The article continues to question whether judicially enforced limits on federal regulatory authority will compromise wetland conservation efforts. Based upon a review of the theoretical literature and empirical evidence, the article concludes that limiting the federal government's ability to regulate wetlands need not undermine conservation efforts, and there is substantial reason to believe that reimposing constitutional limits on federal regulatory authority may well improve environmental protection efforts.

Download or read book Swancc Supreme Court Decision written by United States. Congress and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-15 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SWANCC Supreme Court decision : impact on wetlands regulations : hearing before the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, first session, to receive testimony on federal regulation of wetlands following the Supreme Court's decision in the case of "Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook C

Download or read book Inconsistent Regulation of Wetlands and Other Waters written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Handbook written by Roxanne Thomas and published by . This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In June 2006 the Supreme Court, in a decision that split 4-1-4, produced a result in Rapanos v. United States that makes federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction over the wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States confusing and uncertain for citizens, landowners, and regulators alike. Members of Congress have introduced new legislation to restore jurisdiction over many of the waters cast into doubt by the decision; and the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers (the federal regulatory agencies) issued a joint guidance document in June 2007 attempting to guide their respective staffs. Numerous federal courts have attempted to apply the uncertain teachings of Rapanos as well. With the support of the Turner Foundation, and the assistance of numerous experts in wetlands science and law, the Environmental Law Institute has prepared a handbook that analyzes the case law, compiles the relevant scientific studies, and provides a set of jurisdictional checklists. The Handbook will assist anyone faced with a jurisdictional question involving a wetland or stream to understand what factors will allow them to find Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

Download or read book The Wetlands Coverage of the Clean Water Act Is Revisited by the Supreme Court written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twice in the past, the Supreme Court has grappled with issues as to the geographic scope of the wetlands permitting program in the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). On June 19, 2006, the Supreme Court rendered a third decision, Rapanos v. United States, on appeal from two Sixth Circuit rulings consolidated by the Court. The Sixth Circuit rulings offered the Court a chance to clarify the reach of CWA jurisdiction over wetlands adjacent only to nonnavigable tributaries of traditional navigable waters -- including tributaries such as drainage ditches and canals that may flow intermittently. (Jurisdiction over wetlands adjacent to traditional navigable waters was established in one of the two earlier decisions.) The Court's decision provided little clarification, however, splitting 4-1-4. The four-justice plurality decision, by Justice Scalia, said that the CWA covers only wetlands connected to relatively permanent bodies of water (streams, rivers, lakes) by a continuous surface connection. Justice Kennedy, writing for himself, would have demanded a substantial nexus between the wetland and a traditional navigable water, using an ambiguous ecological test. Justice Stevens, for the four dissenters, would have upheld the current broad reach of Corps of Engineers/EPA regulations. Because no rationale commanded the support of a majority of the justices, lower courts will have to wrestle with the proper rule of decision to extract from Rapanos for resolving future cases. The legal and policy questions associated with Rapanos -- regarding the outer geographic limit of CWA jurisdiction and the consequences of restricting that scope -- have challenged regulators, landowners and developers, and policymakers for more than 30 years. The answer may determine the reach of CWA regulatory authority not only for the wetlands permitting program but also for several other CWA programs; the CWA has one definition of "navigable waters" that applies to the entire law. Critics of the regulatory program had hoped that the Supreme Court's decision would provide a "bright line" jurisdictional standard, but the 4-1-4 ruling did not do so and has led to pressure for guidance, new regulations, or possibly congressional action to clarify the current questions. While regulators and the regulated community debate the legal dimensions of federal jurisdiction under the CWA, scientists contend that there are no discrete, scientifically supportable boundaries or criteria along the continuum of wetlands to separate them into meaningful ecological or hydrological compartments. Wetland scientists believe that all such waters are critical for protecting the integrity of waters, habitat, and wildlife downstream. Changes in the limits of federal jurisdiction highlight the role of states in protecting waters not addressed by federal law. From the states' perspective, federal programs provide a baseline for consistent, minimum standards to regulate wetlands and other waters. Most states are either reluctant or unable to take steps to protect non-jurisdictional waters through legislative or administrative action.

Download or read book Wetlands written by Congressional Research Congressional Research Service and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-11-03 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent Congresses have considered numerous policy topics that involve wetlands. Many reflect issues of long-standing interest, such as applying federal regulations on private lands, wetland loss rates, and restoration and creation accomplishments. The issue receiving the greatest attention recently has been determining which wetlands should be included and excluded from requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA), especially the Section 404 permit program that regulates waste discharges affecting wetlands, which is administered by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a result of Supreme Court rulings in 2001and 2006 that narrowed federal regulatory jurisdiction over certain isolated wetlands, the jurisdictional reach of the permit program has also been narrowed. In response, legislation intended to reverse the Court's rulings in these cases has been introduced in Congress but not enacted. In March 2014, EPA and the Army Corps proposed a rule to define the scope of waters protected by the CWA. According to the agencies, the proposed rule would revise the existing administrative definition of "waters of the United States" consistent with the Supreme Court's rulings and consistent with science concerning the interconnectedness of tributaries, wetlands, and other waters and the effects of these connections on the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of downstream waters. The proposal, which could be finalized in 2015, is controversial with groups who contend that it would vastly increase federal assertion of jurisdiction that triggers CWA regulatory requirements. Wetland protection efforts continue to engender controversy over issues of science and policy. Topics include the rate and pattern of loss, whether all wetlands should be protected in a single fashion, the effectiveness of the current suite of laws in protecting them, and the fact that 75% of remaining U.S. wetlands are located on private lands. Many public and private efforts have sought to mitigate damage to wetlands and to protect them through acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and creation, particularly coastal wetlands. While recent data indicate success in some restoration efforts, leading to increases in some types of wetlands in some locations, many scientists question if restored or created wetlands provide equivalent replacement for natural wetlands that contribute multiple environmental services and values. One reason for controversies about wetlands is that they occur in a wide variety of physical forms, and the numerous values they provide, such as wildlife habitat, also vary widely. In addition, the total wetland acreage in the lower 48 states is estimated to have declined from more than 220 million acres three centuries ago to 110.1 million acres in 2009. The national policy goal of no net loss, endorsed by administrations for the past two decades, had been reached by 2004, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, as the rate of loss had been more than offset by net gains through expanded restoration efforts authorized in multiple laws. However, more recent data show wetlands losses of nearly 14,000 acres per year. Many protection advocates say that gains do not necessarily account for the changes in quality of the remaining wetlands, and many also view federal protection efforts as inadequate or uncoordinated. Others, who advocate the rights of property owners and development interests, characterize these efforts as too intrusive. Numerous state and local wetland programs add to the complexity of the protection effort.

Download or read book Lawyers Swamps and Money written by Royal C Gardner and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2011-04-15 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lawyers, Swamps, and Money is an accessible, engaging guide to the complex set of laws governing America's wetlands. After explaining the importance of these critical natural areas, the book examines the evolution of federal law, principally the Clean Water Act, designed to protect them. Readers will first learn the basics of administrative law: how agencies receive and exercise their authority, how they actually make laws, and how stakeholders can influence their behavior through the Executive Branch, Congress, the courts, and the media. These core concepts provide a base of knowledge for successive discussions of: the geographic scope and activities covered by the Clean Water Act the curious relationship between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency the goal of no net loss of wetlands the role of entrepreneurial wetland mitigation banking the tension between wetland mitigation bankers and in-lieu fee mitigation programs wetland regulation and private property rights. The book concludes with insightful policy recommendations to make wetlands law less ambiguous and more effective. A prominent legal scholar and wetlands expert, professor Royal C. Gardner has a rare knack for describing landmark cases and key statutes with uncommon clarity and even humor. Students of environmental law and policy and natural resource professionals will gain the thorough understanding of administrative law needed to navigate wetlands policy-and they may even enjoy it.

Download or read book Regulating Wetlands Protection written by Ronald Keith Gaddie and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wetlands are a valuable natural resource, yet over 200,000 acres are destroyed in the United States per year. This book examines whether states should assume the role of protecting wetlands rather than the federal government.

Download or read book Takings Compensation and Pending Wetlands Legislation written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Land Rights written by Bruce Yandle and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 1995 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1990s a grass-roots movement has sprung up among ordinary people to fight regulatory actions taking away their rights to land. In this collection of new essays, twelve distinguished scholars of economics, law, and public affairs address the history and causes of this movement. They document and analyze Supreme Court decisions on regulatory takings, enforcement activities of the Corps of Engineers and EPA, and case studies involving takings under the Endangered Species Act.

Download or read book Legislative Approaches to Defining Waters of the United States written by Claudia Copeland and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. In the 111th Congress, legislation has been introduced that seeks to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the wake of Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that interpreted the law¿s jurisdiction more narrowly than prior case law. Bills to nullify the Court¿s rulings have been introduced repeatedly since the 107th Congress, but none had advanced until the 111th Congress. The legal and policy questions concerning the outer geographic limits of CWA jurisdiction and consequences of restricting that scope have challenged regulators, landowners and developers, and policymakers for more than 35 years. Contents of this report: Intro.; Analysis of Bills; Regulatory and Proposed Statutory Definitions of ¿Waters of the U.S.¿ Illus.

Download or read book Once More With Feeling written by Jonathan H. Adler and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Supreme Court's decision reaffirming limits on federal regulatory jurisdiction in Rapanos v. United States was significant, but hardly revolutionary. The Court's holding that the Clean Water Act only reaches those wetlands with a significant nexus to navigable-in-fact waters followed directly from its prior decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in which the Court held the CWA did not extend to isolated, intrastate waters because they lack a significant nexus to navigable waters. Rapanos and SWANCC suggest the Court is reluctant to conclude Congress has authorized far-reaching federal regulatory controls over private land use, absent explicit statutory language to the contrary. Such a federalism clear statement rule may be in tension with some environmental concerns, but it need not hamper environmental conservation. Environmental progress is wholly consistent with meaningful limits on federal power. If the federal government is to play an optimal role in the protection of wetlands, and match its efforts to those aspects of wetland conservation that require action of a federal scope, it would concentrate its efforts in those areas where non-federal efforts are most likely to be insufficient. The challenge to policy makers is to adapt conservation measures to the broader legal landscape and recognize that environmental protection can live within legal limits.

Download or read book SWANCC Supreme Court Decision Impact on Wetlands Regulations Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Fisheries Wildlife and Water of the Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate One Hundred Eighth Congress First Session to Rece written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Federal Wetlands Policy written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 1326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Takings Issue written by Robert Meltz and published by Island Press. This book was released on 1998-12 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As challenges to land use and environmental controls by landowners and the property-rights movement have become more frequent, the concept of "takings" -- government action that excessively limits a property-owner's use of private land -- has become both increasingly familiar to the public, and increasingly problematic for planners, local officials, and anyone involved with making day-to-day decisions about land use. A vast and diverse body of case law has come into existence over the past several decades, and the controversy generated by recent legal decisions has resulted in a significant level of ideological bias in much of what has been written on the topic.This volume is an objective and authoritative examination that considers all aspects of the takings issue. It is a much-needed guide and overview that introduces and explains issues surrounding regulatory takings on the local, state, and federal level for anyone involved with private land and government limitation of its permissible use. The authors describe where the law is now, predict where it might go in the future, and review conflict-reducing solutions to a variety of situations. They condense an immense amount of information into a clear and accesible format, making the book equally valuable for lawyers and non-lawyers alike.The Takings Issue addresses procedural hurdles involved in getting a takings issue heard by a court, examines what does and does not constitute a taking, and considers the remedies available to landowners involved in takings actions. It treats concerns such as zoning, dedications and exactions, subdivision platting, and other local issues in some detail, and also considers state and federal issues involving industrial site approval, endangered species and wetlands protection, restrictions on access to resources on federal lands, and other topics.The book is an essential reference for planners, land use lawyers, developers, and students of planning and law, as well as for policymakers and citizens involved with takings issues.