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Alicia Huey, chairman of the NAHB and a custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala., today issued the following statement after the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous verdict in the case of Sackett v. EPA:

“Today the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA that clearly redefines the scope of the Clean Water Act. The decision represents a victory against federal overreach and a win for common-sense regulations and housing affordability. The ruling will likely affect the Biden administration’s new definition of waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) that gave the federal government jurisdictional authority under the Clean Water Act over certain isolated wetlands, ephemeral streams or even human-made drainage features, like roadside ditches.

“The Biden WOTUS rule does little to strengthen our nation’s water resources but it does radically extend the areas in which home builders are required to get federal wetlands permits. Adding uncertainty and delay to the federal permitting process needlessly raises housing costs at a time when the nation is already facing a housing affordability crisis.

“With the Supreme Court verdict impacting the worst parts of the Biden WOTUS rule, it’s time for the administration to implement a new durable and practical definition of WOTUS that will truly protect our nation’s water resources without infringing on states’ rights and triggering additional expensive, time-consuming permitting and regulatory requirements.”