Scholars’ Circle – Wetlands Protection, the Clean Water Act and the US Supreme Court – July 2, 2023

In the wake of the US Supreme Court decision that weakened the EPA’s capacity to protect wetlands, we explore the role of wetlands in sustainability, biodiversity, and the economy. What might the decision mean for our environment, and economy? We examine Sackett vs. EPA, in a broader context what this means for the implementation of the Clean Water Act, what it means specifically for wetlands. What is the implication of framing the EPA as being against economic development? What exactly does “waters of the United States” mean as discussed in this decision? [ dur: 58mins.] David Keiser is Professor in the Department of Resource Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the co-author of The low but uncertain measured benefits of US water quality policy, Consequences of the Clean Water Act and the Demand for Water Quality and Economic effects of environmental crises: Evidence from Flint, Michigan. Richard N. L. (Pete) Andrews is a Faculty Fellow of the Institute for the Environment and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the author of Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves: A History of American Environmental Policy.   This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.