The Taking Defense to Wetlands Regulation

April 1984

Citation:

ELR 10169

Issue

Author

William L. Want

Editors' Summary: The Fifth Amendment taking issue is emerging as a significant concern in wetlands regulation. In a recent case, 1902 Atlantic, Ltd. v. Hudson, a district court for the first time declared that the Corps of Engineers' denial of a permit to develop a wetlands would amount to a taking of property. Mr. Want examines land use taking law and surveys cases applying it to wetlands. He concludes that while courts may continue to apply taking law to wetlands, actual declarations of taking will be rare.

Mr. Want is a Visiting Scholar at the Environmental Law Reporter. He recently completed a year as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, where he taught environmental law and civil procedure. From 1973 to 1982, he was a trial attorney in the Pollution Control Section of the Land and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. He has litigated many wetland cases and recently published a survey of federal wetlands law in the Harvard Environmental Law Review.

The Taking Defense to Wetlands Regulation

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The Taking Defense to Wetlands Regulation