Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf
Page Number: 71.0

4 

SACKETT v. EPA 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring in judgment 

ordinary  meaning  and  longstanding  agency  practice,  a
wetland is “adjacent” to a covered water (i) if the wetland is
adjoining—that  is,  contiguous  to  or  bordering—a  covered 
water—or  (ii)  if  the  wetland  is  separated  from  a  covered 
water  only  by  a  man-made  dike  or  barrier,  natural  river 
berm, beach dune, or the like. 

The  Court  and  I  agree  that  wetlands  in  the  first 
category—that is, wetlands adjoining a covered water—are 
covered  as  adjacent  wetlands.  Ante,  at  19–22.  But  the 
Court  and  I  disagree  about  the  second  category—that  is,
wetlands  separated  from  a  covered  water  only  by  a  man-
made dike or barrier, natural river berm, beach dune, or the 
like.  The  Court  concludes  that  wetlands  in  that  second 
category  are  not  covered  as  adjacent  wetlands  because
those wetlands do not have a continuous surface connection 
to a covered water—in other words, those wetlands are not 
I  disagree  because  the
adjoining  the  covered  water. 
statutory  text  (“adjacent”)  does  not  require  a  continuous 
surface  connection  between  those  wetlands  and  covered 
waters. 

The  ordinary  meaning  of  the  term  “adjacent”  has  not 
changed  since  Congress  amended  the  Clean  Water  Act  in
1977 to expressly cover “wetlands adjacent” to waters of the 
United States.  91 Stat. 1601; 33 U. S. C. §1344(g).  Then as 
now, “adjacent” means lying near or close to, neighboring,
or  not  widely  separated. 
Indeed,  the  definitions  of 
“adjacent”  are  notably  explicit  that  two  things  need  not 
touch  each  other  in  order  to  be  adjacent.    “Adjacent” 
includes “adjoining” but is not limited to “adjoining.”  See, 
e.g., Black’s Law Dictionary 62 (rev. 4th ed. 1968) (defining 
“adjacent”  as  “Lying  near  or  close  to;  sometimes, 
contiguous;  neighboring;  . . .  may  not  actually  touch”); 
Black’s  Law  Dictionary  50  (11th  ed.  2019)  (defining 
“adjacent”  as  “Lying  near  or  close  to,  but  not  necessarily 
touching”); 
e.g.,  Webster’s  Third  New 
International  Dictionary  26  (1976)  (defining “adjacent”  as 

see  also,