Victory: Judge Rules Against Dangerous Case Seeking to Gut Wetland Protections

Iowa District Court sides with clean water, sustainable agriculture groups in Project 2025-motivated lawsuit seeking to gut longstanding “Swampbuster” protections

IOWA - Today, federal judge C.J. Williams of the Northern District of Iowa ruled in favor of sustainable agriculture groups and family farmers in a Project 2025-motivated lawsuit, CTM Holdings, LLC v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sought to gut longstanding clean water and wetlands protections.

The ruling is a victory for wetlands, habitat, and water quality throughout the United States. Environmental and sustainable agriculture groups including Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Environmental Council, Dakota Rural Action, and Food & Water Watch intervened in the case to defend longstanding “Swampbuster” Farm Bill provisions from the plaintiff’s effort to have the program deemed unconstitutional.

ELPC Staff Attorney Katie Garvey said: “Everybody pays a price when wetlands are lost, but those who live downstream will pay the highest costs. This decision is a win for family farmers who know that Swampbuster is fair, makes sense, and is worth protecting.”

Food & Water Watch Staff Attorney Dani Replogle said: “This decision is an unequivocal victory for sustainable farming, clean water and wetlands, and a significant loss for Project 2025 zealots. The message is clear: we will not let fringe legal theories turn our wetlands into sacrifice zones for corporate landlords. The federal government’s uncontroversial ability to encourage sustainable farming practices has been upheld yet again. We remain vigilant for any efforts to appeal to a higher court, and applaud this decision as case closed for wetland protections in Iowa and nationwide.”

Iowa Environmental Council General Counsel Michael Schmidt said: “Swampbuster has been a foundational conservation practice for decades. It was approved by Congress to protect wetlands, prevent flooding, improve water quality, and retain habitat. This court’s thorough decision upholds the practical conservation measures that have been the standard for decades. Commonsense measures like Swampbuster support Iowa farmers and everyone downstream from them.”

The intervenors are represented by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), Food & Water Watch, and the Iowa Environmental Council. Counsel from ELPC provided oral argument in defense of Swampbuster before the federal court in March.

Background

The federal Farm Bill sets agricultural and conservation policy nationwide. Two provisions, Swampbuster and Sodbuster, commonly referred to as “conservation compliance” are implicated in CTM Holdings, LLC vs USDA. Starting in 1985, the Farm Bill put conditions on the receipt of federal subsidies: farmers must not drain wetlands (“Swampbuster”) or plant crops on highly erodible land (“Sodbuster”) if they want to receive the subsidies.

Swampbuster has protected wetlands, safeguarded clean water, and supported farmers for nearly four decades. If the plaintiffs were successful, the program could have been revoked entirely, along with its sister program, Sodbuster. The programs are credited with a whopping 40 percent reduction in soil erosion, making farmland more productive and reducing water pollution. Wetlands also provide much-needed resiliency against droughts and flooding. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the 30 million acres of wetlands in the Upper Midwest alone are responsible for preventing $23 billion per year in residential flood loss costs.

The plaintiff landholding company in this lawsuit, represented by the notoriously anti-environmental Pacific Legal Foundation, seeks to further a key Project 2025 objective: unhitching federal farm financing from basic conservation requirements.

This case is among the Pacific Legal Foundation’s portfolio of lawsuits seeking to roll back wetlands protections, following its victory before the Supreme Court last year in Sackett v. EPA, which revoked Clean Water Act protection from many of the nation’s wetlands. Pacific Legal Foundation has made it clear it intends to use CTM Holdings, LLC vs USDA to upend Swampbuster regulation entirely, ultimately angling for a Supreme Court ruling.

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The Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) is an alliance of diverse organizations and individuals working together to protect Iowa's natural environment. Founded in 1995, it is the largest and most comprehensive environmental coalition in the state. Through education, advocacy and coalition building, the Council raises awareness, generates action and creates large-scale change that makes Iowa a better place to live, work and explore. Learn more at www.iaenvironment.org. 

Food & Water Watch is a national nonprofit that mobilizes people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests. For more information, please visit foodandwaterwatch.org.

Dakota Rural Action (“DRA”) organizes people and builds leadership while developing strong allied relationships. DRA protects environmental resources, advocates for resilient agriculture systems, and empowers people to create policy change that strengthens their communities and cultures. DRA envisions an active and engaged membership promoting healthy, beautiful, and just food, agriculture, and energy systems that protect clean air, water, and soil for all the current and future inhabitants of South Dakota.

The Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest’s premier environmental legal advocacy organization. We use the power of the law and strategic advocacy campaigns to create climate change solutions, advance clean energy, protect public health, and preserve the Midwest’s wild and natural places.

The Iowa Farmers Union is a grassroots membership organization of family farmers and ranchers, advocates, and consumers committed to promoting family agriculture in Iowa. Since 1915, Iowa Farmers Union members have worked together to strengthen the independent family farm through education, legislation, and cooperation and to provide Iowans with sustainable production, safe food, a clean environment, and healthy communities.