This morning, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA does not have jurisdiction over the so-called wetlands on the property of Michael and Chantell Sackett in Bonner County.
This ruling ends fifteen years of litigation hell that the federal government put the couple through, threatening tens of thousands of dollars a day in fines because they dared build a house on their own property.
Between this ruling and last year’s West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court is finally curtailing the seemingly unlimited powers that the EPA had apparently granted itself. This agency is the epitome of the out-of-control federal bureaucracy that harasses and terrorizes innocent people without recourse or due process.
The Pacific Legal Foundation, which fights for property rights and personal liberty, represented the Sacketts before the Supreme Court. Check out their timeline of events.
I wrote a longer piece for the Idaho Freedom Foundation on this case as well, so check that out too.
This is a great victory for property rights and common sense against a federal bureaucracy that often acts as judge and jury with no accountability. The Congress must act to constrain these agencies that have amassed so much power over the past fifty years, and the Idaho Legislature must also take steps to protect our citizens from such federal overreach. This is a great victory, but the hell the Sacketts went through the last fifteen years should never have happened.
Thank you for posting about this!
Would make a good Louis L'Amour title, too!