Supreme Court Hears Wetlands Protection Arguments

"If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and breeds in a large puddle, is the federal government authorizedto protect it from the construction of a local landfill?That was the issue argued before the Supreme Court yesterday, in a case that will decide whether the ArmyCorps of Engineers lawfully prohibited the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, Ill., from buildinga new dump on 17 acres of rolling pond- and puddle-dotted ground that provides habitat for mallards, woodducks and other migratory birds.The case is being closely watched not only by local governments, environmentalists and business groups, butalso by conservative and liberal political activists. The court could treat the case as an opportunity to build onits recent precedents reining in Congress's authority to legislate based on the clause in the Constitution thatgrants the federal government power over interstate commerce."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan