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Cases / Protected area / relocation · United States · 2023

After Sackett ruling, NRDC says at least 60% of individual wetlands are unprotected

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

A 2023 US Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA required a wetland to have a 'continuous surface connection' before it gained federal protection. NRDC modelling, reported by Inside Climate News, found that at least 60 percent of individual wetlands would be left unprotected even under the mildest reading.

What?
The 2023 Sackett decision narrowed federal wetland protection by requiring a 'continuous surface connection'. Inside Climate News
Where?
United States; the NRDC modelling covers Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Mexico Inside Climate News
When?
Supreme Court decision in May 2023; NRDC modelling published in March 2025 Inside Climate News
Who?
Gained
  • Some US landowners, farmers and livestock producers — Supported the narrower wetland definition, according to the sources reviewed
Lost
  • Wetlands without a continuous surface connection — Lose federal protection Inside Climate News
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
NRDC modelled a mild and an extreme reading of the connection test on individual wetlands. Inside Climate News
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Supreme Court's May 2023 Sackett decision required a 'continuous surface connection' for a wetland to gain federal protection, according to Inside Climate News.

Inside Climate News reported NRDC modelling, published in March 2025, which found that even the mildest reading leaves at least 60 percent of individual wetlands unprotected, and that the most extreme reading leaves 99 percent of New Mexico's wetland area unprotected.

The Environmental Defense Fund says 24 states depend entirely on federal protection for their wetlands.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2023-05Outcome not on record
      Sackett v. EPA
      US Supreme Court · Civil · Private landowners (not named) → Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

      The court required a 'continuous surface connection' for federal protection of a wetland. Inside Climate News

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    • Unclear Sackett v. EPA: outcome not on record.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: EPA proposed in 2025 and again in September 2026 to narrow the connection test further, and the comment period closed on 9 October 2026; the Harvard summary note could not be opened.
    • None on record The final rule defining US waters (WOTUS) had not been published in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record Wetland losses since the 2023 decision are modelled rather than measured in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    PFOA (C8) and PFAS
    PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.
    Wetland
    Land that is saturated or covered with water for long periods, such as marshes, swamps and peat bogs.

    Institutions

    EPA
    The US Environmental Protection Agency.
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