Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf
Page Number: 12

6 

SACKETT v. EPA 

Opinion of the Court 

EPA designated as traditionally navigable.  To establish a 
significant  nexus,  the  EPA  lumped  the  Sacketts’  lot  to-
gether with the Kalispell Bay Fen, a large nearby wetland 
complex that the Agency regarded as “similarly situated.” 
According  to  the  EPA,  these  properties,  taken  together,
“significantly affect” the ecology of Priest Lake.  Therefore, 
the EPA concluded, the Sacketts had illegally dumped soil 
and gravel onto “the waters of the United States.” 

The Sacketts filed suit under the Administrative Proce-
dure  Act,  5  U. S. C.  §702  et seq.,  alleging  that  the  EPA 
lacked jurisdiction because any wetlands on their property
were not “waters of the United States.”  The District Court 
initially dismissed the suit, reasoning that the compliance 
order  was  not  a  final  agency  action,  but  this  Court  ulti-
mately held that the Sacketts could bring their suit under
the APA.  See Sackett, 566 U. S., at 131.  After seven years
of additional proceedings on remand, the District Court en-
tered summary judgment for the EPA.  2019 WL 13026870 
(D Idaho, Mar. 31, 2019).  The Ninth Circuit affirmed, hold-
ing that the CWA covers adjacent wetlands with a signifi-
cant  nexus  to  traditional  navigable  waters  and  that  the 
Sacketts’ lot satisfied that standard.  8 F. 4th 1075, 1091– 
1093 (2021).

We granted certiorari to decide the proper test for deter-
mining whether wetlands are “waters of the United States.” 
595 U. S. ___ (2022). 

II 
A 

In  defining  the  meaning  of  “the  waters  of  the  United 
States,” we revisit what has been “a contentious and diffi-
cult  task.”  National  Assn.  of  Mfrs.  v.  Department  of  De-
fense, 583 U. S. ___, ___ (2018) (slip op., at 1).  The phrase
has sparked decades of agency action and litigation.  In or-
der to resolve the CWA’s applicability to wetlands, we begin 
by reviewing this history.