THE BLAZE: Supreme Court Sides With Private Property Owner in Landmark EPA Case

March 21, 2012
Today, the Supreme Court has sided with an Idaho couple in a private property rights case, ruling they have the right to go to court to challenge an Environmental Protection Agency policy that blocked construction of their new home and threatened fines of more than $30,000 a day.

In 2007 the EPA halted private property owners Mike and Chantell Sackett from building a new home on their property adjacent to a scenic lake in Idaho. The reasoning? The agency said part of the property was a wetlands that could not disturbed.

The first phase of construction had already been completed on the private residence when federal officials showed up and ordered a halt in the work. A fine of $30,000 a day would be levied against the Sackett’s were they to continue building. The couple was then disallowed by the agency to obtain the permits needed to continue construction in local courts.


CONTINUED:  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/supreme-court-sides-with-private-property-owner-in-landmark-epa-case/