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House Resources & Conservation Committee advances memorial accusing EPA and Army Corps of ignoring Supreme Court wetlands rulings
Summary
The House Resources & Conservation Committee voted to send HJM 13 to the House floor after testimony from Mike and Shantelle Sackett about a two‑decade legal fight and multiple supporters who said the EPA and Army Corps have overreached in enforcing the Clean Water Act.
The House Resources & Conservation Committee voted to send HJM 13 to the House floor with a DO PASS recommendation after Rep. Boyle presented concerns that federal agencies are not following applicable law and recent Supreme Court decisions on wetlands.
Rep. Boyle said the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers "are not adhering to the Clean Water Act, nor are they following the Supreme Court's ruling on wet lands," and yielded to Mike Sackett and Shantelle Sackett, who described approximately a 20‑year legal battle that they said resulted in two unanimous Supreme Court decisions in their favor.
Multiple witnesses spoke in support of the memorial. Norm Semanko, Paul Arrington (Idaho Water Users Association), Brad Pfannmuller (Avimor Development), Dan Richter, Ed Humphreys and Branden Jensen (Idaho Farm Bureau Federation) testified they have faced what they described as heavy‑handed or threatening behavior from the EPA and the Army Corps and urged the committee to advance the measure.
Rep. Shepherd moved to send HJM 13 to the floor with a DO PASS recommendation; the motion carried by voice vote. Rep. Boyle will sponsor the memorial on the House floor.
The memorial asks federal entities to align enforcement and interpretation of wetlands protections with the Clean Water Act and the governing Supreme Court rulings. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally for the voice vote.
