Wetlands and Streams Most in Danger After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA Ruling

Map of wetlands and streams most in danger after the U.S. Supreme Court’s "Sackett v. EPA" ruling.

← Wetlands and streams most at risk of harmful development and pollution

map-sackett-wetlands-scale_2024


Wetlands and streams with some protections from harmful development and pollution

Scale based on current state water protections, state legislative limits to clean water safeguards, and federal data on quantity of streams and wetlands in states

← Wetlands and streams most at risk of harmful development and pollution

Wetlands and streams with some protections from harmful development and pollution →

Colorado

Kentucky

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

Oklahoma

Texas

Alaska

New Mexico

South Carolina

Utah

Arkansas

Arizona

Delaware

Iowa

Idaho

Kansas

Louisiana

Mississippi

Montana

North Dakota

South Dakota

Alabama

Georgia

Hawaiʻi

Florida

Indiana

Maryland

Maine

Michigan

North Carolina

New Jersey

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Virginia

Wisconsin

West Virginia

Wyoming

California

Connecticut

Illinois

Massachusetts

Minnesota

New Hampshire

New York

Rhode Island

Vermont

Washington

Scale based on current state water protections, state legislative limits to clean water safeguards, and federal data on quantity of streams and wetlands in states

The United States has at least 290 million acres of wetlands — about twice the area of Texas — and at least 200 million miles of life-giving streams which do not flow year-round. As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA, millions of acres of wetlands have now lost protections, as well as a staggering and yet-to-be-determined number of streams. The downstream impacts of this staggering loss of protections are incalculable.

Waterways are vast and interconnected — even states with protective laws can experience the impacts of water pollution and wetlands loss.

“The Sackett decision undoes a half-century of progress generated by the Clean Water Act,” explained Sam Sankar, senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice.

“The Court’s decision to deregulate wetlands will hurt everyone living in the United States. Earthjustice will continue to fight to protect our waters to ensure the health of communities and ecosystems for decades to come.”

Where states are strengthening and weakening protections for wetlands and streams

Good legislation: California, Maryland, New Mexico, Washington, Wisconsin

Creating wetlands programs: Colorado, Illinois

Executive action to protect wetlands: North Carolina

Passed rollbacks in 2023–2024: Indiana, North Carolina

Introduced rollbacks that failed to pass: Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina

Map showing where states are strengthening and weakening protections for wetlands and streams.
HI AK CA NV OR WA ID MT WY UT AZ CO NM TX OK KS NE SD ND MN IA WI IL MO AR LA MS AL TN KY IN MI OH PA NY ME WV VA NC SC GA FL NH VT MA CT RI NJ DE MD DC

States with a significant number of streams vulnerable to being targeted

In these states, over 75% of their streams are classified as ephemeral or intermittent streams by U.S.G.S. After Sackett, ephemeral and intermittent streams are likely more vulnerable to being targeted for development and pollution without strong state protections.

Over 75% of streams classified as ephemeral or intermittent: Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming

Over 90% of streams classified as ephemeral or intermittent: New Mexico, Nevada

In these states, over 75% of their streams are classified as ephemeral or intermittent streams by U.S.G.S., and in the states with the darkest shade, these streams make up over 90% of streams in the state.

States with the most wetlands and highest proportion of wetlands to land, but least protective laws

Includes states with more than 3 million acres of wetlands and/or more than 4% of the state are wetlands

Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas

Map of the states with the most wetlands and highest proportion of wetlands to land, but least protective laws.

Media Inquiries: Erin Fitzgerald, Senior Media Relations Strategist, Earthjustice, efitzgerald@earthjustice.org, (215) 671-6529

Established in 1989, Earthjustice's Policy & Legislation team works with champions in Congress to craft legislation that supports and extends our legal gains.