Last year we brought you the story of Chantell and Mike Sackett, a couple who has been trying to fight the federal governments takeover of their land. Today the Supreme Court has finally ruled on whether property owners have a right to meaningful judicial review when the EPA seizes control of their property.
How the Nightmare began:
The whole ordeal started back in 2005 when Mike and Chantell Sackett bought a small .63 acre parcel of land with the intent to build a three-bedroom family home. The lot was in a residential area with a number of existing homes. The Sackett’s obtained all the needed permits, followed all the local laws and then started work on their new home.
Just when the couple thought they had realized their dream of owning a home, they were devastated by EPA who told the couple to stop building. Without judicial hearings or notice, the EPA claimed that the Sacketts property sat on protected wetlands and ordered them to return the land to its native condition or face enormous fines. The EPA then demanded payments of over a quarter of a million dollars to “request” permission from the U.S. government to build on their own land.
Armed with what they believed to be proof that the land was not “wetlands,” the Sacketts tried to challenge the EPA’s claim. To their surprise the EPA denied their request and the Ninth Circuit ruled that they had no right to immediate judicial review.
The Supreme Court Rules:
After years of battling the EPA and racking up over one-hundred million dollars in fines, we are happy to report that the Supreme Court finally ruled in the Sackett’s favor today. The Supreme Court held that landowners have a right to direct, meaningful judicial review if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency effectively seizes control of their property by declaring it to be “wetlands.”
While we are happy for the Sacketts, this ordeal is far from over. The ruling today will allow for judicial review, but the Sacketts will still have to fight this battle out in the courts.
Here is the Sackett’s Story:
This country is being run by criminals. This is not a political statement but a statement of truth. Both parties are selling out the American public and they are what the founders warned us of. They are lairs, thieves and criminals everyone of them.
I tell you one thing, they come on my land and I will not be as nice as the Sacketts
I totally agree. I’ve worked my behind off to hard for someone to walk right on my property and begin to think they are going to try and tell me how and what I’m going to do with my property.
Excuse me for leaving out a few things. As long as I’m being respectful of my property as would i would hope my forefathers and my generations to follow. What I hope that you understand as I try to convey to you is that if I have left my property in the condition I found it that is when I feel the way I did when I was sharing my thoughts with you.
I read a comment from someone a few days ago that read “if you obey the law you have nothing to fear from the government”. They went on to call preppers paranoid and said they had no reason to worry about government monitoring.
Well this family followed the law, went out of their way to work with the officials and they were still targeted by the government. So I guess this goes to prove that we need to worry about everything they do.
The ignorant are voting for the tyrannical to run this country…
You don’t want a tyrant? Armed peaceful protest march on DC, the government needs fear its people, not the other way around. and use masks, it sucks to have to hide your face to uphold the constitution, but it will keep your family and yourself anonymous, and anonymous is the only true safety. also ditch cell phones prior to getting there. We’ve all seen enemy of the state, and that was 20 years ago.
If i had the land to give away I would tell them they could have a few acres off my Farm, but thats out in TN(I also have a small SHTF slice of land in the mountains I did some house repairs for).
That’s all well and good as far as the courts and judicial review. What happened to the Sacketts was a tragedy in my opinion. With that being said, if they come to seize your land, don’t forget what happened at Ruby Ridge?
It is so encouraging to know the Sacketts won!
If you’re a western book reader you may know that
Louis Lamour had many books featuring the Sacketts!
Way back in the late 80’s the the USACOE (core of enginners) pulled the same thing on my family property. While I agree with need to protect and understand the importance of wetlands, I feel that if they are that important for the good of all then the gov;t should be made to pay fair compensation to the owners for the property, possibly also with life estate for those with the desire to be able to hunt and fish.
You really never own your land.The Government let’s you lease it from them if they so desire.You pay a Mortgage on it for so many years and then when paid off think you own it.But there is still the Property tax due every year to be paid.Miss to many and they come and seize said property and sell it off to the highest bidder just to collect the delinquent tax due.So you truly never own it free and clear.The Government always has the last say over what,where and when you can do anything with YOUR so called Land.
What you say is absolutely 100% true. So if the government ultimately controls and owns the land…
think of what a racket it is for the banks to collect the mortgages! They are a middleman that does nothing but collects everything. What a system when you really look at it. Then the bankers use the mortgage money to bribe the politicians to pass more laws that favor them instead of private citizens.
The gumm’t hacks, from the top on down,are crooks. They all need to serve time on a chain gang and never allowed back into a position where they can do this kind of harm again. I hate those worms.
“Who the hell do they think they are trying to seize our land…” And to think it’s been done before a long time ago. Too bad nobody learned the lesson from what happened to the Native Americans.
RE: What happened to the Native Americans…we are all colonized now.
Does anyone know who specifically is responsible for putting this couple through hell? I fought for the freedoms this couple has! Who is the manager/decision maker who did this? I would like to send him/her an email telling of my displeasure. This sort of thing can’t happen in this country.
just wait until marshall law if you think things are bad now
Hahahaha … hey, Goober, it’s spelled M-a-r-t-i-a-l …
i agree if the govt wants to declare ur property wetland and wont allow u to do anything on it then they should buy ur property from u at fair value of the property around u. i have 4 acres and cant do anything cause they declared it wetland so i can’t move on it and i cant sell it cause no one will buy wetland. so basically im screwed. i cant even dig a hole or ill b fined
It’s designed so that we’ll get frustrated and run out of money to fight them (the government) and give up. Good luck to all of those that seek to fight the government.
Ah Yes…. I too am the proud owner of some bull5hit wetland. It pi55es me off so much that the states and the feds can come along and declare my property part of one of their crazy protection programs without having to compensate me for it. If it’s so goddam valuable, they ought to feel lucky just to have the opportunity to purchase this little piece of sacred swamp. It blows my mind that if someone in the private world puts some kind of limiting easement on a property (ie, electric line, water line, ingress/egress, etc), we have to attach that to the deed so that it can be found with a simple deed search. But the government can come along, and do whatever the he11 they want when it comes to declaring something a wetland….without any obligation to record that limitation on a deed. All I have to say, is they better hope I never come down with some terminal disease, because if I do, I will be turning my wetland into the biggest, foul, polluted, oil slick they have ever seen since the good folks at BP did their number on the Gulf.
Everyone should watch ” welcome to the reservation” by The late Russel Means
Hahahaha … you people are uneducated lunatics. That’s right, y’all gonna show the government who’s boss … hahahaha … if the government comes callin’ y’all be hiding out in your smelly little outhouses …. hahahaha …
Hey Bozette, you are the government. Try watching fewer re-runs of Will and Grace and read about history, politics and economics. Rather than listen to nutjobs like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh, try volunteering on a political campaign. Instead of whining about things not being fair, get involved and change things.
Maybe you could learn something from Rush Limbaugh and even Sarah Palin sometimes. Don’t always think the way you’ve done something makes it right. I don’t agree with everything they have to say but you would be surprised if you opened your eyes and ears and truly listened to what they have to say. I think that if both sides would do this we might be able to get together on some of these smaller issues which will help bring us closer together in the end. I know all my ways and ideas are not correct but when we don’t even give the other person room to talk it creates a wider gap between the two of us. I would like to see if we could find a way to learn more from the other so that we might be able to come to terms on some serious issues facing our country. But I am hesitant to hear from the other side when I saw the way they behave on national TV when they don’t get their way. Don’t even begin to tell me that the election was rigged because if it was trust me Hillary would have known how to have figured that out. As much political power as she had she would have stopped Trump in his own path. I’m not going to stir that pot anymore than I have already done. But I have not said anything that wasn’t true. I would like to drop that right there cause that got me off the path I had no intention of going down. Because I want us to find a way to get a long and enjoy each other’s company and learn to agree to disagree on matters that aren’t of major importance. I hope you understand my position.
They are doing that here also, under the guise of water use permits. We are part of the back to the land movement that started during the 70s on the North Coast of California about 150 miles south of the Oregon border and 20 miles inland. Three years ago Cal Fire came and “inspected” folks property to as they said check and make sure there was a defensible clearing around folks houses. Not long after folks started receiving letters saying Cal Fire was charging a fee Fer each livable structure. They charged a fee instead of levying a tax. If it was called a fee that way it didn’t have to be voted on. Just last week Cal Fire came to my friends land and left a note at the locked gate saying they did not see an address for the parcel. Now folks can say the is totally reasonable I say it is government incursion
My sister is dealing with the same BS right now. She has had land now since 1959. Probably even before they cam out with this “wetland” BS. Now that she desperately needs the money from sale of this land to help buy a roof over her head she is being told one of her lots is wetlands. The lots are adjacent of each other.She is 72 years old and owes college grants ..Yeah , at 70 she went to college and now can’t find a job to pay off her grants and her mobile home is falling down around her. She tried so hard to help herself…and now this.. I despise this government.
Can someone direct me to an attorney in Oregon that can help us sue the DSL? We e lived here 33 years and we’re selling our property …we had a buyer and now we’re told it’s a possible wetland ? We pay food controle and R1 zoning… We are screwed …