Wetlands Cases Head To Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted two cases on federal regulation of wetlands, reports The New York Times. Both from Michigan, the cases challenge regulators’ definition of federally protected wetlands under both the Clean Water Act and the Constitution. In question is whether the federal government is properly asserting jurisdiction over wetlands that may be part of a drainage area or tributary system but do not actually abut the "navigable waters" to which the Clean Water Act refers.