WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) applaud the recent Supreme Court ruling clarifying the definition of “the waters of the United States.”

This decision reins in the federal government’s role in water policy and provides much-needed clarity for Idaho’s farmers and ranchers.   

In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito ruled in favor of the petitioners and said wetlands are covered only if they have a continuous surface connection to one of those major waterways.

“The Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA is a victory for landowners, ranchers, farmers, and Idahoans,” said Risch.  “The federal government had no right to use the Clean Water Act to usurp the rights of states and personal property owners.  The top court decisively ruled in favor of Americans everywhere.”

“This Supreme Court ruling curbs the Environmental Protection Agency’s long-held history of unlawfully expanding the intended purpose of the Clean Water Act,” said Crapo.  “We are thankful there is now much-needed clarity to EPA’s conflicting definitions that have negatively affected landowners for years.”

The decision reverses a judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.