Sooner State News

OKLAHOMA CITY  - Attorney General Gentner Drummond lauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling yesterday in Sackett v. EPA, a decision that limits the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.

At issue was the EPA’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that had been opposed by Oklahoma and other states.

“At the urging of my office and 25 other states, the U.S. Supreme Court embraced a reasonable definition of ‘waters of the United States’ that respects the text and structure of the Clean Water Act,” said Drummond. “In the battle against federal overreach, the Environmental Protection Agency is one of Oklahoma’s most consistent foes. I am pleased the Supreme Court has limited EPA’s ability to enforce these damaging and unreasonable regulations.”

The decision held that the federal Clean Water Act extends only to wetlands that have a continuous surface connection with U.S. waters and can’t be distinguished from those waters. It reversed an earlier decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Original source can be found here.