WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Thursday limited federal protection for wetlands, ruling that marshy areas are usually not covered by the Clean Water Act or protected from development unless water flows directly from them into a waterway such as a river, lake or bay.
The court ruled for a couple who were blocked from building a home on a soggy vacant lot next to scenic Priest Lake in Idaho.
"We hold that the CWA extends to only those 'wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are waters of the United States in their own right,' so that they are 'indistinguishable' from those waters," said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. for a 5-4 majority.
