An explanation by Robin Smith, a former deputy secretary of North Carolina’s environmental protection department.

In addition to being a former deputy secretary of North Carolina’s environmental protection department, Robin Smith has decades of legal experience in interpreting and applying environmental laws. She now authors the legal blog SmithEnvironment. For our readers who can use a more legally technical review of the U.S. Supreme Court’s terrible wetlands decision in Sackett v. EPA, and how SB 582 is exactly the wrong response, we suggest reading Smith’s complete summary technical review of the case and what it means to North Carolina.

We have included the following excerpt:

“The Supreme Court decision in Sackett only interpreted how the Clean Water Act defines the scope of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. The court did not find that wetlands outside federal jurisdiction do not require environmental protection and in fact stressed the role of states in protecting water quality,” concludes Smith. “The State of North Carolina–not Congress and not the U.S. Supreme Court–has the responsibility to protect North Carolina waters. In light of the Sackett decision, the state needs to decide whether and how to protect the water quality, ecological and flood control functions of wetlands that fall outside federal jurisdiction. The decision can’t be out-sourced to the federal government.”

Want to get involved? Tell Governor Cooper to veto Senate Bill 582 and protect the right to clean water for all North Carolinians!