Supreme Court case likely to have huge impact on Clean Water Act

A case before the Supreme Court will likely determine how the Clean Water Act is interpreted and the ruling could open up new areas for development within or adjacent to wetlands.

Late last year, the Biden administration issued a new definition of “waters of the United States,” which broadened the numbers of streams and wetlands subject to regulations of the Act. States and national advocacy groups have sued to reverse that provision, and a federal judge has halted it in 24 states.

A case before the Supreme Court, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, may settle the issue. Environmental advocates worry that the justices will gut the Clean Water Act by imposing a narrow reading on what counts as one of the “waters of the United States.”

The court could decide that the federal government doesn’t have authority to protect as many as of half of the country’s wetlands. That action could make many more acres of land nationwide available to developers.

The director of federal water policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council told Grist that the case’s impact is “hard to overstate.” It could make it a “huge problem” to achieve the organization’s water quality goals, he said.

But real estate developers would cheer such an outcome as it would eliminate uncertainty over which areas are subject to the Act, and how they could build on parcels in wetlands areas.

New ideas in design and constructability are radically changing how metal systems are used as roofing for commercial and institutional buildings. Behind the investment in these new kinds of expressions and construction approaches is a growing interest in improved performance and reduced environmental impact. Metal roofing systems can cut cooling and heating loads significantly, according to the EPA.

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Norshield Products Fortify Critical NYC Infrastructure

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.

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