The Clean Water Act at 50: New Challenges Around the Bend

The Clean Water Act was part of a pathbreaking series of laws that ushered in a wholly novel era of environmental conservation on a nationwide scale. It followed shortly after the first Earth Day demonstrations of 1970 and at a time when memories of the Cuyahoga River catching on fire in Cleveland, due to oil slicks on the water’s surface, were still fresh. Today, the Clean Water Act is credited with helping to improve water quality throughout the nation, notably in the Chesapeake Bay as well as restoring trout streams in Appalachia. It has proved vital to the preservation of wetlands, which filter out pollutants, protect against flooding, and mitigate the erosion of shorelines. However, today, the Clean Water Act faces new challenges. A lawsuit out of Idaho, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court and may result in a dramatic rollback of the federal government’s jurisdiction over the waters of the United States. By some estimates, 80 to 90 percent of wetlands would lose protection under the Clean Water Act if jurisdictional rules are weakened. The Supreme Court case is set to be argued in October 2022, with a decision likely by spring 2023. UVA’s Lifetime Learning in partnership with the Sustainability Office invites you to hear from three University of Virginia professors with nationally recognized expertise on this live controversy. Jonathan Cannon is the Blaine T. Phillips Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law Emeritus and was the General Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1995 to 1998. Karen McGlathery is a Professor of Environmental Sciences and Director of the Environmental Resilience Institute at the University. She also leads the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research program, based on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Cale Jaffe is a Professor of Law and Director of the Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic. He was lead author of a brief on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League in support of the EPA in the Sackett case that is currently before the Supreme Court.