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Supreme Court ruling could aid developers on properties containing wetlands

Codes and Standards

Supreme Court ruling could aid developers on properties containing wetlands

Unanimous decision allows landowners to take regulatory decisions straight to court.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | June 9, 2016

Photo: chris white/Creative Commons.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gives landowners a new way to challenge some federal regulatory decisions pertaining to wetlands designation.

The 8-0 ruling said landowners can go straight to court after federal regulators decide that a piece of property containing wetlands is covered by the Clean Water Act. The decision may streamline the approval process for people and companies seeking to develop wetlands.

The case involved a proposed peat-mining operation on 530 acres in Minnesota. The property owners and a mining company, Hawkes Co., are fighting a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers making the land subject to federal regulation.

The Obama administration argued that a landowner can’t sue until a permit application is rejected, or if the owner faces a federal enforcement action for proceeding without a permit.

U.S. appeals courts’ rulings had been divided on whether a regulatory decision involving restrictions on the use of property could be challenged immediately in federal court. 

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