No constitutional right to clean water, federal court finds

No constitutional right to clean water, federal court finds The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit from Mississippi residents related to lead-contaminated water.

Key points

• The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing residents' 2022 lawsuit.
• They argued that the water contamination violated their constitutional right to bodily integrity under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
• In the majority decision, Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote that while the deprivation of clean water was "grievous, " it did "not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right."
• Better sleep, healthier skin and easier breathing could all start with the right humidity level in your home.
• "The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing, " Engelhardt wrote.

Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to clean drinking water in a Sept. 4 decision rejecting Jackson, Mississippi, residents' lawsuit over the city's lead-contaminated water system.

Notably, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing residents' 2022 lawsuit. The plaintiffs, Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller and John Bennett, alleged that the city knowingly allowed residents to drink unsafe water.

"We are skeptical that the right to not be harmed by lead-contaminated water fits within the right to bodily integrity, and Plaintiffs point us to no historical tradition or Supreme Court precedent convincing us, " he wrote.

He additionally stated there was no constitutional right to "truthful information from officials during a public health crisis." A right to clean water?

Meanwhile, the lawsuit against the City of Jackson stemmed from testing conducted by the Mississippi State Health Department between 2010 and 2013 showing rising levels of lead in the water. The four plaintiffs argued that the city failed to take steps to prevent further lead from entering the water supply and offered residents false assurance that the water was safe.

In practice, the judge discovered the lead exposure that resulted from the city's mismanagement was "wholly different" from past examples when governments infringed on a person's right to bodily integrity, including "from forced surgery, involuntary medicating, and assault."

Rather, he remarked residents should take other paths to redress, including electing better representatives and petitioning the administration for remedies.

While the right to clean water isn't included in the U.S. Constitution, or in the Mississippi state Constitution, a number of states, including California and Virginia, have protected access to safe water. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, no constitutional right to clean water, federal court finds is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.