Republicans and industry trade groups slammed the Biden administration Wednesday for its response to a Supreme Court ruling on federal water protections.
Sackett v. EPA left more than half the nation’s wetlands outside the scope of the Clean Water Act for the first time in decades, according to EPA estimates. The ruling also stripped away protections for many rivers and streams that only flow for part of the year.
Members of the Biden administration have described the ruling as a major threat to clean water. But this week, House lawmakers were told that the administration is failing to implement key provisions under Sackett, leaving landowners and farmers unsure about which wetlands are federally regulated.
“I don’t think they’re implementing it,” said Emma Pokon, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
