In what the EPA considered a violation of the Clean Water Act, John Rapanos had filled in a wetland like the Sacketts’, only bigger. With the Clean Water Act, Congress delegated that authority to the experts in the EPA and the Corps. Wetlands such as the Kalispell Bay Fen feed Priest Lake by surface water, subsurface water and groundwater flow. In fact, surface water makes up only 1.2% of all fresh water, and groundwater makes up an astonishing 30%, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Groundwater, indeed, has a beyond significant influence on the physical, chemical and biological integrity of surface water.

Source: New York Times October 14, 2022 19:28 UTC