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June 23, 2006

In a scant-reported 5-4 decision this week, the Supreme court upheld the government's power to block development on wetlands, but established a test that there must be a "signficant nexus" (i.e. some sort of physical connection) between the wetland and a navigable waterway in order for the wetland to be regulated.

Most people have probably heard stories about someone who wanted to develop a piece of land, but were kept from doing so because a marshy area was ruled to be a "wetland." Often there's no wildlife living in the area other than a handful of frogs. It is certainly an area of environmental regulation where some rationality needs to be established. A prospective buyer of a piece of land should be able to know with certainty what sort of development he would be able to construct on the land. And "wetlands preservation" shouldn't be used as a fig leaf to block development unless real ecological impact is at stake.

An interesting aspect of this case is that the Bush administration sided with environmentalists and against developers. This may come as a surprise to those who believe Republicans consistently favor business interests over the environment.

Posted by Eric Seymour at June 23, 2006 12:58 PM

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Posted by: JohnS at June 23, 2006 02:02 PM | permalink

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