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Saturday, January 07, 2012

Environment - "Supreme Court takes up property rights dispute"

David G. Savage had this long story in the Jan. 3, 2012 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Some quotes:

Next week, the Supreme Court will take up the Sacketts' case, not to redefine wetlands but to decide whether landowners are entitled to a hearing before a judge when they are confronted by the EPA. The case is being closely watched by developers and environmentalists. * * *

[T]heir hearing request was turned down by a federal judge in Idaho and by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Agreeing with the EPA, the judges said the compliance order was like a warning to the landowners that they were violating the law. They weren't entitled to a hearing under the law until the agency had imposed a fine on them, the appeals court said.

"When Property Rights, Environmental Laws Collide," is the heading to a long report by Nina Totenberg on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 7, 2012 09:29 AM
Posted to Environment