STEWARDSHIP AND SACKETT: AN ECOTHEOLOGICAL CRITIQUE OF THE SUPREME COURT’S NARROWING OF “WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES”

Abstract

In Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court held that the EPA’s regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act did not apply to the plaintiff’s lands at issue. Following the majority’s analysis of the Clean Water Act’s statutory history, subsequent case law, plain language, and dictionary definitions of the Act’s “operative provision[s]”, nearly half of U.S. wetlands formerly safeguarded under the Clean Water Act are devoid of federal protection. This Note analyzes the Supreme Court’s opinion in Sackett through the lens of ecotheology, a form of Christian liberation theology that examines the relationship between Christianity and the environment within the specific context of current ecological crises. From an ecotheological perspective, this Note identifies and critiques the Court’s fundamental posture toward the environment, its subsequent legal analysis, and the effects of its opinion on person and place alike.

Keywords

Sackett, Waters of the United States, Charlie Evans, Stewardship, ecotheology, Christianity and the environment, Clean Water Act, EPA, Sackett v. EPA

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Charlie H. Evans

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