For those of you who missed this news just before Memorial Day weekend… the US Supreme Court was pushed first by Obama, then by Biden, and overwhelmed by liberals. opposed the Protected “Water of the United States” (WOTUS) regulation. Senator Jon Tester (Democrat-Montana).

The WOTUS rule was vehemently opposed not only by farm and ranch groups here in Montana, but also by Republicans on the Montana legislative delegation.Republicans take control of the US House of Representatives voted to block this rule earlier this year.

Jonathan Wood is Associate Director for Law and Policy at PERC, a Bozeman-based real estate and environmental research center. He appeared on our radio Friday to give his take on the Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA.

Jonathan Wood: It’s a big win for the Sacketts and landlords all over the country. And the most interesting thing about this decision is that it was unanimous. All judges in the court considered what happened to the Sacketts over the past two decades to be unpardonable abuse and a sweeping rebuke of what the EPA has done to landlords across the country.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte also said it was a big win for small business owners, farmers and ranchers.

Aaron Flint: What ramifications do you see as a result of this Supreme Court decision?

Jonathan Wood: The most significant short-term ramifications will be for states to begin changing the way wetlands are regulated. The Clean Water Act is so controversial that it actually politicizes state action. In many states, especially in the Midwest, state regulators basically say they can’t do more than federal regulations. I think that will change. Federal regulations are now significantly reduced. The greatest opportunity, however, lies in moving towards wetland protection through voluntary and market-based systems rather than regulation. The fundamental flaw of the Clean Water Act has always been – turning it into a punishable responsibility for landowners to protect wetlands, prairie pits, or other features that serve a genuinely beneficial purpose for wildlife and water quality. There is A better way is to allow private conservation groups to compensate landlords, negotiate with them, and turn them into assets that they have incentives to protect and conserve.

You can read more about Wood’s reaction click here. Click below for the full audio of him starting about 3/4 of the way through the podcast.