Waterways are vast and interconnected — even states with protective laws can experience the impacts of water pollution and wetlands loss.
The United States has at least 290 million acres of wetlands — about twice the area of Texas — and at least 200 million miles of life-giving streams which do not flow year-round. As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA, millions of acres of wetlands have now lost protections, as well as a staggering and yet-to-be-determined number of streams. The downstream impacts of this staggering loss of protections are incalculable.
Waterways are vast and interconnected — even states with protective laws can experience the impacts of water pollution and wetlands loss.
“The Sackett decision undoes a half-century of progress generated by the Clean Water Act,” explained Sam Sankar, senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice.
“The Court’s decision to deregulate wetlands will hurt everyone living in the United States. Earthjustice will continue to fight to protect our waters to ensure the health of communities and ecosystems for decades to come.”
Originally published by EarthJustice, 05.14.2024, republished with permission for educational, non-commercial purposes.