On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court refused to defer to federal agencies when undertaking the core function of the judiciary—interpreting the law. The Court held that the term “waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act does not mean all wetlands but rather refers only to “streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes” and to adjacent wetlands that are “indistinguishable” from those bodies of water. The decision was a victory for WLF, which joined the Cato Institute, Associated General Contractors of America, Mountain States Legal Foundation, and NFIB Small Business Legal Center on an amicus brief in the case.
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