Justices to weigh limits on reach of Clean Water Act

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - The Supreme Court will consider reining in federal regulation of private property under the nation’s main anti-water pollution law, the Clean Water Act.

The justices agreed Monday to hear a business-backed appeal from Chantell and Michael Sackett, who have wanted to build a home close to Priest Lake in Idaho for 15 years and won an earlier round in their legal fight at the Supreme Court.

The Environmental Protection Agency ordered work on the Sackett’s property halted in 2007, determining that part of it was a wetlands that could not be disturbed without a permit.

The new court case, to be argued in the fall, tests the reach of the Clean Water Act beyond rivers, lakes and streams.