Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court opened the door to more lawsuits over the Clean Water Act in a Tuesday ruling that allowed businesses to challenge the federal government’s decisions on which wetlands and streams it can regulate.

The decision is being viewed as a big win for conservatives and property rights activists who have long challenged the federal government’s broad reach under the Clean Water Act.

In Tuesday’s case (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc.) the eight active justices unanimously agreed that the determinations should be open to court review, with four offering concurring opinions outlining separate lines of reasoning for reaching that conclusion.

A former Justice Department attorney said that the fact that the ruling was unanimous shows that even the liberal justices will not automatically defer to the Obama administration’s Clean Water Act policy interpretations which impact property rights.

Following the decision, Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) – who is chairman of the congressional Private Property Rights Caucus – said he applauds the ruling.

“The Fifth Amendment Right to private property is critical to a free society,” Reed said in a released statement following the decision. “We care about protecting private property owners from the overreach of big government and stopping the federal government from riding roughshod over the rights of ordinary citizens. Allowing land owners to appeal the decisions of nameless Washington bureaucrats is the right thing to do, and we applaud the ruling.”

Last week Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) voted to support the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act.

According to Reed who is a co-sponsor of the bill, it is designed to protect local control over waterways. The Corning Republican adds that it’s important for state and local officials to maintain primary responsibility over local waterways to avoid Washington from mandating sweeping, one-size-fits-all regulations.

If enacted, the bill would prohibit s the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers from expanding the federal government’s role and regulatory influence under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

However, Opponents of the bill say if enacted, it would prevent the EPA from moving forward with an important rule that clarifies which waters, and in particular wetlands, fall under the protection of the Clean Water Act – which was designed to prevent activities that harm or pollute the nation’s rivers, streams, lakes and coastal waters.

Opponents of Reed’s bill say that it is tied to a misinformation campaign intended to distract Americans from the important role the EPA and the Clean Water Act play in preserving and protecting the environments. The misinformation has become so widespread that the EPA had to create a website called “Ditch the Myth” to explain what the rule does and does not do.

Another version of the bill is currently in the Senate awaiting its consideration.

That’s according to a report from the Jamestown Post-Journal, which says Lycoming Construction Services, LLC. was given the sentence on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo. The company will also be put on probation for two years. The owner of the company, 66 year old Leo Williams, was also sentenced to one year of probation and a fine of $25,000 for violating the Clean Water Act.

According to the report, the Williamsport, PA-based company violated the state’s Clean Air Act when it ignored a survey identifying asbestos and continued with the demolition of Dahlstrom building from January 2012 to November 2013.

Water contaminated with dust and debris from the demolition was allowed to flow offsite directly into the Chadakoin River.

According to a report Friday in the Jamestown Post-Journal, the two government agencies have filed a legal complaint against David Whitehill and his business Dependable Towing and Recovery. The complaint is for allegedly Whitehill filling wetlands to make a parking lot on his property. The property is located just north of I-86 and to the east of County Route 380.

The most recent complaint stems from a cease and desist order issued in 2009 against Whitehill after inspections found Whitehill had filled in more than 16 acres of forested wetlands with soil and dirt. In March 2010 the EPA ordered to remove the illegal fill. He has yet to comply with that order, resulting in the federal government moving forward on Thursday with taking legal action against him and his business.

Under the filed complaint the federal government is seeking restoration of the wetlands along with the payment of a civil penalty of $37,500 per day for each violation of the Clean Water Act.

According to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Whitehill is also liable for a civil penalty for each day of violation of the March 2010 order.