New SCOTUScast: Sackett v. EPA
by SCOTUScaster
Posted January 26, 2012, 11:04 AM
On January 9th, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Sackett v. EPA. The case involves two landowners who graded a lot in a residential subdivision so that they could build a home there. The Environmental Protection Agency subsequently issued an administrative compliance order to the landowners stating that the graded lot was a wetland, and directing the landowners either to remove the fill and restore the lot to its original condition, or risk civil fines in the amount of thousands of dollars for each day of non-compliance.
The question before the Court is whether the landowners may seek judicial review of the EPA’s compliance order before it is actually enforced against them and, if not, whether the compliance order deprives the landowners of due process of law.
We have Elizabeth Papez, a partner at Winston & Strawn, to discuss the case.