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Supreme Court’s Sackett ruling narrows federal reach; Colorado reviews options to protect wetlands
Summary
Presenters told the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee that Sackett v. EPA (May 2023) rejected the 'significant nexus' test and narrowed federal jurisdiction for wetlands, prompting Colorado agencies to use interim enforcement discretion and to study state permitting options to fill gaps left by the ruling.
The Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee heard an overview of federal wetlands law and Colorado’s response during an educational session that emphasized legal uncertainty and state options following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision.
Gabe Bridal, an attorney with Vranish and Reich, traced Clean Water Act permitting back to the act’s two programs — Section 402 for point-source discharges and Section 404 for dredge-and-fill — and summarized how Supreme Court decisions over decades have narrowed federal jurisdiction. "There has to be a continuous surface connection between the wetland and another water body," Bridal said, characterizing the Court’s two‑part test in Sackett and how it rejected the broader 'significant nexus' approach used in some prior decisions.
The change has practical consequences, Bridal…
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