Post by ncboman on Jun 20, 2006 21:28:57 GMT -5
Supreme Court affirms wetlands protections over conservatives' complaints
WASHINGTON A wetlands case at the Supreme Court has ended with a victory for environmental advocates and a defeat for the new conservative justices.
The high court says the government can stop development on hundreds of (m) millions of wetlands acreage, even on land miles away from waterways. But the fractured decision came with five different opinions.
Chief Justice John Roberts was one vote short of putting new limits on the landmark Clean Water Act. He and three other conservatives dissented, complaining that virtually any land in America could be regulated as protected wetlands.
But swing-voter Anthony Kennedy agreed with the court's more liberal members that the regulations can restrict development around tributaries, even if they aren't filled with water year-round.
. web page
WASHINGTON A wetlands case at the Supreme Court has ended with a victory for environmental advocates and a defeat for the new conservative justices.
The high court says the government can stop development on hundreds of (m) millions of wetlands acreage, even on land miles away from waterways. But the fractured decision came with five different opinions.
Chief Justice John Roberts was one vote short of putting new limits on the landmark Clean Water Act. He and three other conservatives dissented, complaining that virtually any land in America could be regulated as protected wetlands.
But swing-voter Anthony Kennedy agreed with the court's more liberal members that the regulations can restrict development around tributaries, even if they aren't filled with water year-round.
. web page
