Supreme Court Wetlands Decision: Depends On Your Point Of View

Following is a sampling of new sources and their coverage:

The New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday came close to rolling back one of the country's fundamental environmental laws, issuing a fractured decision that, while likely to preserve vigorous federal enforcement of the law, the Clean Water Act, is also likely to lead to new regulatory battles, increased litigation by property owners and a push for new legislation."

The Christian Science Monitor: "The result is a decision best described as 4-1-4. Four justices agreed that the law called for a restrictive view of the scope of federal jurisdiction to reach remote wetlands. Four other justices concluded that the statute permits the government to take upstream actions to prevent downstream degradation of federal water resources."

The Nation's Building News, published by the National Association of Home Builders: "In a step forward for affordable housing and against excessive regulation, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday remanded to the lower courts a decision on whether wetlands connected to actual navigable waters by ditches or drains should be regulated as navigable waters of the United States."

The Los Angeles Times: "Divided Supreme Court Upholds Federal Protections for Wetlands... A divided Supreme Court on Monday upheld the broad power of federal environmental regulators to protect most wetlands from development, even in areas that are dry much of the year."