Supreme Court limits federal power over wetlands, boosts property rights over clean water

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday made it harder for the federal government to police water pollution in a decision that strips protections from wetlands that are isolated from larger bodies of water. 

It's the second decision in as many years in which a conservative majority of the court narrowed the reach of environmental regulations.  

The justices boosted property rights over concerns about clean water in a ruling in favor of an Idaho couple who sought to build a house near Priest Lake in the state’s panhandle. They objected when federal officials identified a soggy portion of the property as a wetlands that required them to get a permit before building. 

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