PLF UNVEILS THE RAPANOS BLOG

Oral argument has been held, and a decision is pending, in Rapanos v. United States, Pacific Legal Foundation's latest case before the United States Supreme Court. In order to keep the media and public up to date on this landmark environmental law litigation, PLF today goes "live" with the RAPANOS BLOG dedicated to news and commentary on the case. In Rapanos, PLF is challenging an astonishing federal power grab, a scheme that could have the feds micromanaging private property nationwide. Traditionally, zoning has been the prerogative of local governments, in keeping with the Constitution's limits on the national government in our federal system. But in recent years, federal regulators have attempted to become arbiters of land use through a contorted interpretation of the Clean Water Act. The Act's plain language gives the federal government oversight over property that abuts "navigable waters." In defiance of common sense, the feds have now defined that term to mean almost any water, anywhere. As Investors Business Daily puts it, "If collected rainwater drains into a gully, thence into a ditch, thence into a river, it's now deemed under government control." Thus, the predicament of PLF's client, John Rapanos: The feds claim the right to nix his plans to develop his property in Michigan--even though it is miles from the nearest "navigable water." The Christian Science Monitor calls Rapanos "a landmark case over the scope of federal power" to regulate private property....