Rapanos v. United States

Rapanos v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 21, 2006 Decided June 19, 2006
Full case name	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.
Docket no.	04-1034
Citations	547 U.S. 715 (more) 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
Case history
Prior	United States v. Rapanos, 895 F. Supp. 165 (E.D. Mich. 1995); reversed and remanded, 115 F.3d 367 (6th Cir. 1997); conviction affirmed, remanded for resentencing, 235 F.3d 256 (6th Cir. 2000); vacated, Rapanos v. United States, 533 U.S. 913 (2001); remanded, United States v. Rapanos, 16 F. App'x 345 (6th Cir. 2001); conviction set aside, 190 F. Supp. 2d 1011 (E.D. Mich. 2002); reversed, United States v. Rapanos, 339 F.3d 447 (6th Cir. 2003); conviction affirmed, 376 F.3d 629 (6th Cir. 2004); cert. granted, 546 U.S. 932 (2005). Carabell v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 257 F. Supp. 2d 917 (E.D. Mich. 2003), affirmed, 391 F.3d 704 (6th Cir. 2004); cert. granted, 546 U.S. 932 (2005).
Holding
Wetlands without a hydrological or ecological connection to other navigable waters do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia Anthony Kennedy · David Souter Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
Plurality	Scalia, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Alito
Concurrence	Roberts
Concurrence	Kennedy (in judgment)
Dissent	Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent	Breyer
Laws applied
Clean Water Act

Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006), was a United States Supreme Court case challenging federal jurisdiction to regulate isolated wetlands under 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 defendants, who were prosecuted for impacting a wetland incidental to commercial development, the court was split over further details, with the four more conservative justices arguing in a plurality opinion for a more restrictive reading of the term "navigable waters" than the four more liberal justices. Justice Anthony Kennedy did not fully join either position. The case was remanded to the lower court.

Ultimately, Rapanos agreed to a nearly $1,000,000 settlement with the EPA without admitting any wrongdoing.^[1]