Join Royal C. Gardner, the Professor of Law, Hugh F. Culverhouse Chair, and Director of the Stetson Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson Law, when he discusses his new book Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource, published by Island Press. In 2023, the Supreme Court made one of its most devastating rulings in environmental history in Sackett v. EPA. By narrowing the legal definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS), the court gutted the heart of the Clean Water Act. The decision was the latest in a long series of battles over WOTUS, and which rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and perhaps even farm fields were to be protected by the Clean Water Act of 1972. His book not only examines how bodies of water are legally defined (and therefore protected), but who gets to decide on these definitions. The result is a fascinating look at the ongoing power struggle between the president and federal agencies, the courts, the states, and Congress over water quality.

About the Speaker:
Royal C. Gardner, the Hugh F. Culverhouse Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law, is an internationally recognized expert in wetland law and policy. He served as lead counsel on amicus briefs on behalf of aquatic scientists and scientific societies in Clean Water Act cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. His recognitions include a National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach, and his institute is the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy. He is a member of the Board of Directors and the Policy and Science Committee of Friends of the Everglades.

This event is co-sponsored by the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative, the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination, and the College of Engineering.

Register on this short form here: https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5bdFxJRkM0fFafk.