A small but important victory for property rights has been won in the case of Sackett v. EPA.

I may have mentioned this case in the past but cannot be certain. The gist is this. A couple bought a .63-acre plot of land back in 2005 for $23,000 on which they wanted to build a house. After getting all the proper permitting they began building and a couple days into the project the EPA issued compliance orders for them to stop construction or face fines of $30,000 a day. Those orders are not challengable in court. Thus the Sacketts were stymied. The only way to get their day in court was to violate the compliance order and trigger the fines. The Supreme Court has ruled that the compliance orders themselves are challengable.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46809531

Here is the opinion : http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1062.pdf

In addition, Justice Alito in his concurring opinion has tasked Congress to provide a reasonably clear rule re- garding the reach of the Clean Water Act.