Translating the Rapanos Ruling Into Practice

From an ecological perspective, wetlands rarely exist in isolation, but when it comes to interpreting laws and establishing policies, they may become lonely in their regulated isolation. In most landscapes, they are hydrologically linked to other wetlands or waterbodies through surface water and groundwater connections. In Rapanos v. United States (consolidated with Carabell v. United States, 126 S. Ct. 2208 (2006)), the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in part, where the federal government can apply the Clean Water Act (CWA) provisions for determining whether a wetland or tributary is connected to a “water of the United States.” The impact of this decision was felt nationwide, but particularly in states that do not have substantial wetland protection statutes.