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Notes -
If the borders of a definition have changed, the definition has changed.
No. The "borders" issue is about the meaning of "adjacent," not the meaning of "wetlands." As the Court said in its opinion the other day, "at least some wetlands must qualify as “waters of the United States.” . . . But what wetlands does the CWA regulate? . . . because the adjacent wetlands in §1344(g)(1) are “includ[ed]” within “the waters of the United States,” these wetlands must qualify as “waters of the United States” in their own right. In other words, they must be indistinguishably part of a body of water that itself constitutes “waters” under the CWA. This understanding is consistent with §1344(g)(1)’s use of “adjacent.” . . . Wetlands that are separate from traditional navigable waters cannot be considered part of those waters, even if they are located nearby."
Note that there is no dispute about what "wetlands" means, but rather, which wetlands are included in "waters of the United States. The "borders issue" is hence not about the borders of wetlands, but the borders of "waters of the United States."
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