ASBN denounces the Supreme Court’s decision on Sackett vs EPA

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN), a membership organization that to informs, connects, and mobilizes the business and investor community toward a sustainable economy, along with partner organization Businesses for Conservation and Climate Action (BCCA), a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses in the natural resource economy, denounce the Supreme Court’s decision on Sackett vs EPA today. 

Today the Supreme Court has made the decision to side with big polluters, narrowing the scope of the Clean Water Act by eliminating protections for wetlands and streams, except in minimal circumstances, putting the health of our communities, the prosperity of our local economies, and the safeguarding of our local ecosystems in danger. 

Clean water is the economic lifeblood of many businesses and communities throughout the nation. Clean water is central to the work of farmers on both land and water, fishermen, and ranchers. Both big and small businesses rely on clean water for daily business needs, to create jobs, and power towns, cities, and states.

“While a few polluters will benefit from gutting our nation’s clean water rules, most businesses depend on clean water, which is vital for farms, fisheries, and members of the outdoor recreation, hospitality, and tourism sectors,” said David Levine, President and Co-founder of ASBN. 

While we don’t have to choose between the environment and a healthy economy, U.S. citizens should have a choice between science-backed protections for clean water and letting polluters have free reign to dump into and destroy our waterways. Today’s Supreme Court decision ignores the overwhelming scientific consensus and undoes protections that had safeguarded our waters for over 50 years.

“The economic value of clean, healthy water to the U.S. business community is immense, as is the harm that will result from petitioners’ proposed reduction of federal protections,” says Colton Fagundes, Senior Policy Director of the ASBN Clean Water is Good for Business campaign. 

Wetlands provide important functions, from hosting juvenile fish species to filtering pollutants and protecting against storm surges and sea level rise. Protecting wetlands is vital to prevent economically devastating flooding in downstream and adjacent communities – it’s estimated that every three miles of wetland can reduce up to a full foot of storm surge. The loss of federal protections for wetlands and streams is a sobering reminder that rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources are only as clean as the smaller waters feeding into them.

Now it’s up to the states. Congress and state officials across the country need to act fast and use every tool in the toolbox to stop big polluters from bulldozing our wetlands and dumping waste into our streams, exporting their pollution onto the communities and businesses downstream.  To engage with the Clean Water for All campaign and lend your voice to the fight for clean water, click here. 

Media Contact:
Colton Fagundes, Policy Director, American Sustainable Business Network
cfagundes@asbnetwork.org