Deb Fischer: “almost 20 years ago, a family in Idaho purchased a lot in a residential area near Priest Lake. They were looking to…”

“almost 20 years ago, a family in Idaho purchased a lot in a residential area near Priest Lake. They were looking to build a home. They obtained county building permits and started placing sand and gravel on their property to get it ready for the build. But shortly after the family began preparing their lot, the Environmental Protection Agency told them to stop. There was water on their building plot with no surface water connection to any body of water. But because of its proximity to Priest Lake, the EPA said that placing sand and gravel on the property violated the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants, such as the rocks and sand used to prepare a building plot into navigable waters. Navigable waters are ambiguously defined by the Clean Water Act as ``waters of the United States.'' That is more commonly known as WOTUS. Normally, navigable waters are defined as waters that are deep; they are wide; and they are calm enough for boats or ships to go across. The surface water on the Idaho family's lot certainly doesn't fit that bill. The Idaho family tried to challenge the EPA. They sought a hearing, but the EPA chose not to grant them one and, instead, continued to assert the Clean Water Act jurisdiction against their land. So Michael and Chantell Sackett sued. They had been to the Supreme Court once, and they are back again this year. They still haven't been able to build on the property that they first acquired in 2004.…”