The Supreme Court's decision in Rapanos v. United States reaffirming the existence of limits of federal regulatory jurisdiction over wetlands and other non-navigable waters generated significant uncertainty about the scope of federal authority -- uncertainty the Bush Administration's post-Rapanos regulatory guidance did little to resolve.
This morning I am debating Jim Tripp, general counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, on what the federal government should do next at a wetlands regulatory workshop sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers' Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute. In two weeks, I'll revisit this issue again when I testify before the House Transportation Committee on proposed revisions to the Clean Water Act that would expand federal jurisdiction.
I'll post more on these events, and recent court decisions in this area, in the days ahead. In the meantime, I my two articles on the Rapanos decision can be found here and here.
*Wetlands include swamps, marshes and bogs.
Many commentators say that still exists.
You can say the same thing about killing Native Americans. Are you hearkening back to the "good old days"?