The SWANCC Decision

In a closely divided 5-4 decision of the justices, the United States Supreme Court ruled on January 9, 2001 that isolated wetlands no longer have federal protection.

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) requested a permit to fill in ponds in an abandoned sand and gravel mine used by migrating birds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers analyzed the impacts of the proposed filling and found three problems. First, the project was not the least environmentally damaging method for developing a waste disposal site. Second, the site posed an unacceptable risk to the public drinking water supply. Third, SWANCC could not include any adequate mitigation measures for the loss of these waters since a landfill cannot be redeveloped into a forested habitat. Based on these findings, the Corps denied SWANCC a permit to fill the ponds.

The Supreme Court held the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers exceeded its authority under section §404 of the Clean Water Act when it denied that permit. Though the issue in the case only involved ponds in the Chicago area, the effects of the case reach nationwide. Millions of acres of wetlands are now unregulated.

It is now up to individual states to pass legislation to restore protection to these wetlands before it is too late.