Conservation Groups Are Taking New Approaches To Safeguard Wetlands

For Collin O'Mara, keeping wetlands near his home base in Wilmington, Delaware recently became murkier.

"Over the last 20 or 30 years, we tried to restore a lot of habitats here. We had some kind, responsible development on the other side," O'Mara said, describing the state protected wetlands near the Dupont Environmental Education Center.

O'Mara is the CEO and executive director of the National Wildlife Federation and says the wetlands surrounding the center are more exposed following a May Supreme Court ruling narrowing regulations.

"These are some of the most important systems to protect our health, protect us from flooding, protect us for, for water quality" O'Mara said. "And they're all at risk right now."

The Sackett vs. EPA decision makes it harder for the federal government to police water pollution in isolated wetlands, the same wetlands that were once covered under the 'Clean Water Act.'

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito, part of the 5-4 vote on the ruling, said in the opinion that 'wetlands can only be regulated...if they have continuous surface connection.'

Abbey Tyrna, who lives in Florida, worries about the more than 31% of wetlands in that state that don't meet those criteria.

"If we want clean water, that's almost impossible in the state of Florida without recognizing the contribution of wetlands," Tyrna said.

She's the executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a non-profit that's gone after local municipalities for irresponsibly disposing of waste prior to the ruling.

She says forcing new ordinances on the local and state level helps push back against land development interests.

"Just because you can't see the connection doesn't mean the connection doesn't exist. There's a large body of research right now that does show the connection via groundwater, animals, energy, nutrient transfers," Tyrna said.

O'Mara says he's focused on coordinated state protections with hopes of finding a consensus soon.

"I mean these are the systems that are going to protect us from climate change. And if we don't protect them now, we're going to regret it later," he said.

Congress could amen the Clean Water Act to include those vulnerable wetlands, but past efforts to lay out and legislate a true definition of 'waters of the United States' have fallen short.