Waters of the U.S.

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Supreme Court wetlands decision has SD water advocates worried

BY: - June 18, 2023

A recent U.S. Supreme Court wetlands decision may have implications for wetlands in South Dakota, which has a law that says state environmental regulations and rules cannot be more strict than federal ones. A wetland is generally viewed as an area of land that is covered or soaked with water for at least part of […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple

BY: - May 25, 2023

UPDATED 5 p.m. Central, 5/25/23 The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable […]

A stock dam reflects the clear blue sky of spring and rolling grasslands of the Great Plains near White River, South Dakota. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Federal judge temporarily blocks new Biden WOTUS rule in two dozen states

BY: - April 12, 2023

A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday blocked in 24 states — including South Dakota — the Biden administration’s newly effective definition of waters that can be regulated under the Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland, a George W. Bush appointee on retired status in the North Dakota District, issued a preliminary […]

President Joe Biden speaks in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Biden vetoes attempt to repeal WOTUS rule on wetlands

BY: - April 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday vetoed a measure that would repeal a rule expanding which types of wetlands can be regulated under the Clean Water Act. Biden promised to veto the legislation that saw Democrats crossing party lines in both chambers to join Republicans in rolling back a rule that is unpopular with […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. Senate clears measure to undo Biden WOTUS rule on wetlands

BY: - March 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — Both Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to repeal the Biden administration’s intensely contested expansion of what qualifies as wetlands that the federal government can regulate. The Senate approved a resolution, sponsored by West Virginia Republican Shelley Moore Capito, that would revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule

BY: - March 10, 2023

The U.S. House voted Thursday to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under the […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Longtime tensions over federal wetlands rule return in U.S. House hearing

BY: - February 8, 2023

A U.S. House panel renewed the decades-long fight Wednesday over how standing waters on farmland and other private property should be defined and regulated by federal authorities, with Republicans calling for a pause until the U.S. Supreme Court can provide more clarity. The definition of so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS — wetlands […]