Rapanos v. United States

SCOTUSCase
Litigants=Rapanos v. United States
ArgueDate=February 21
ArgueYear=2006
DecideDate=June 19
DecideYear=2006
FullName=John A. Rapanos, et ux., et al., Petitioners v. United States; June Carabell, et al., Petitioners v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et al.
Citation=547 U.S. 715; 126 S. Ct. 2208; 165 L. Ed. 2d 159; 2006 U.S. LEXIS 4887; 74 U.S.L.W. 4365; 62 ERC (BNA) 1481; 19 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 275
Docket=04-1034
USVol=547
USPage=715
Prior=On writs of cert. to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Subsequent=
Holding=Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded.
SCOTUS=2006
Plurality=Scalia
JoinPlurality=Roberts, Thomas, Alito
Concurrence=Roberts, Kennedy
Dissent=Stevens
JoinDissent=Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
LawsApplied=Clean Water Act

"Rapanos v. United States", 547 U.S. 715 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case challenging the Clean Water Act. It was the first major environmental case heard by the newly-appointed Chief Justice, John Roberts and Associate Justice, Samuel Alito. The Supreme Court heard the case on February 21, 2006 and issued a decision on June 19, 2006. While five justices agreed to void rulings against the plaintiffs, who wanted to fill their wetlands to build a shopping mall and condos, the court was split over further details, with the four more conservative justices arguing in favor of a more restrictive reading of the term "navigable waters" than the four more liberal justices. Justice Kennedy did not fully join either position. [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Scotus-Wetlands.html]

Prior history

The case revolves developers John A. Rapanos (Midland, Michigan) and June Carabell whose separate projects were stopped because of the environmental regulations that make up the Clean Water Act.

In the late 1980s, Rapanos filled 54 acres of wetland that he owned with sand in preparation for the construction of a mall without filing for a permit. [cite news |first = Felicity |last = Barringer |title = Michigan Landowner Who Filled Wetlands Faces Prison |publisher = The New York Times |page = A20 |date = 2004-05-18 |accessdate = 2006-06-19] He argued that the land was not a wetland and that he was not breaking the law, but his own consultant and state employees disagreed. Rapanos' land is up to 20 miles from any navigable waterways.cite news |first = Linda |last = Greenhouse |title = Supreme Court Takes Up 2 Cases Challenging Powers of U.S. Regulators to Protect Wetlands |publisher = The New York Times |page = A14 |date = 2005-10-12 |accessdate = 2006-06-19] However, the term "navigable waterway" has been broadly interpreted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to include areas connected to or linked to waters via tributaries or other similar means. Rapanos was convicted of two felonies for filling wetlands in violation of law in 1995. The conviction was overturned and restored several times but, in the end, he was forced to serve three years of probation and pay $5,000 in fines. [cite news |first = David |last = Shepardson |url = http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0503/16/B01-118750.htm |title = Man avoids prison in land feud |publisher = The Detroit News |date = 2005-03-16 |accessdate = 2006-06-19] Eventually, Rapanos appealed the civil case against him, which included millions of dollars of fines, to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Carabell, who was involved in the associated case "Carabell v. United States Army Corps of Engineers", did seek a permit to build condominiums on 19 acres of wetlands, but the request was denied. Carabell took the issue to the courts, arguing that the federal government did not have jurisdiction. After losing in the Federal District Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Carabell appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

ee all

* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 547

References

External links

* [http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/04-1034.htm John A. Rapanos v. United States at SupremeCourtUs.gov] (docket information)
* [http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/docket/2005/february.html John A. Rapanos v. United States at FindLaw] (docket information)
* [http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-1034.ZS.html full text] (HTML with links to precedent, statutes, and U.S. Constitution)
* [http://www.asiwpca.org/comments/Rapanos.pdf Court of Appeals Opinion] (PDF)
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5226083 NPR story regarding the case]
* [http://www.law.sc.edu/wetlands/rapanos-carabell/ History of Rapanos and the related case, Carabell] (A history, starting from the US Army Corps of Engineers permit application submitted by the Carabells and the enforcement action brought by the Environmental Protection Agency against Mr. Rapanos, through the various appeals leading to this US Supreme Court decision)
* [http://www.vjel.org/books/PUBS10004.html] The Supreme Court and the Clean Water Act: Five Essays on the Supreme Court's Clean Water Act jurisprudence as reflected in Rapanos v. United States, published in April 2007 by the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law and the Vermont Law School Land Use Institute