skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

SCOTUS Could Remove Clean Water Protections Near MT Headwaters

play audio
Play

Monday, July 25, 2022   

A U.S. Supreme Court case before justices next session could determine what bodies of water are protected under the Clean Water Act.

The case, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, involves an Idaho couple that was informed some of the wetlands on their property could be protected under the Clean Water Act.

Guy Alsentzer, executive director of Upper Missouri Riverkeeper, said keeping the current protections in place is important in Montana. He noted that headwaters for three transcontinental river systems, including the Columbia and Missouri, are located in the state.

"If we see the court narrow the scope of federal law protections, a lot more pollution and degradation can enter into our ecosystems," said Alsentzer. "And we know, scientifically, that protecting headwaters and all hydrologically connected river systems, including their upper reaches, is vitally important to protecting downstream water quality."

Nearly 50 waterkeeper organizations across the country, including Upper Missouri Riverkeeper, have signed a friends of the court brief in support of the EPA in this case.

The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 to protect the health of the waters of the U.S, promote healthy aquatic ecosystems and regulate the discharge of pollutants into waterways.

Alsentzer said threats to Montana's waterways come from many sources.

"We don't have a single oil refinery or a single toxic waste site or a single particular issue that is subsuming all others," said Alsentzer. "What we see is a general fragmentation of the health of our ecosystems, and it truly is death by a thousand cuts."

In June, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the agency did not have authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from power plants, with the majority arguing that Congress must approve powers of this magnitude.

Alsentzer said that decision will hang over this case.

"In the West Virginia case, the court went beyond what the narrow question presented in many respects and they signaled that they are open to reversing some of their earlier precedents," said Alsentzer. "That has implications, of course, for whether or not the court will narrowly or broadly read into the Sackett case."

Clean-water advocates are asking the Supreme Court to uphold the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling about the scope of wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act.




get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021