In 2007, an Idaho couple began building a home near Priest Lake; EPA ordered them to restore the property or risk fines exceeding $40,000 a day, beginning a 16-year Supreme Court battle

A long legal battle over wetlands near Priest Lake reached the Supreme Court. The EPA claimed the Sacketts' property wetlands were "waters of the United States." The Supreme Court ruled that a continuous surface connection is required for jurisdiction. This decision reversed a broader approach previously used by the agency.