In a long-running issue involving religious freedom that reached all the way to the U.S. The Supreme Court and the state court of appeals in Minnesota declared on Monday that members of a staunchly orthodox Amish community do not need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water.”
A three-judge panel found that the government “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to support overriding the Amish families’ exercise of their right to freedom of religion.
Gray water refers to water that has been used for bathing, washing dishes, and doing laundry but not for toilet waste.
One of the most traditional Amish communities in the U.S. is found in southeastern Minnesota with the Swartzentruber Amish.
In a 2021 decision, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch made a statement. In light of a high court ruling a month earlier in another issue involving religious freedom, it remanded the matter to Minnesota courts for reconsideration.
The Catholic foster care organization in Philadelphia that claimed its religious beliefs prohibited it from working with same-sex couples was successful in appealing that decision.
Last September, a district court in Minnesota reached the conclusion that the government had demonstrated a “high order” compelling state interest in requiring the Swartzentruber Amish to use septic tanks in order to save the area’s groundwater supplies.
The families then filed another appeal. On Monday, the Court of Appeals agreed with them and remanded the case to the lower court with instructions to rule in the Amish’s favor.
In order to properly dispose of gray water, properties in Fillmore County are now required to have modern septic systems.
The Swartzentruber Amish requested a waiver on the grounds that their religion forbids using that technology.
2017 saw their lawsuit.
They had been dumping their gray water untreated into the ground for years. They suggested using wood-chip-filled mulch basins as an alternative.
Gorsuch stated at the time that the federal religious freedom legislation that was in question in the Philadelphia case “prohibits governments from infringing on sincerely held religious beliefs and practices except as a last resort,” pleading with the Minnesota court and local authorities to quickly settle the conflict.
According to Gorsuch, neither the Amish nor anybody else in our country should be forced to choose between their farms and their beliefs.
The Swartzentruber Amish employ some technology, according to the Court of Appeals, but they don’t own or operate cars, use cellphones, electric lights, or contemporary flush toilets.
They have traditionally forbade septic tanks and used cisterns to deliver water to their homes.
eptic Tank Rules Against Religious Beliefs
In a long-running issue involving religious freedom that reached all the way to the U.S. The Supreme Court and the state court of appeals in Minnesota declared on Monday that members of a staunchly orthodox Amish community do not need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water.”
A three-judge panel found that the government “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to support overriding the Amish families’ exercise of their right to freedom of religion.
Gray water refers to water that has been used for bathing, washing dishes, and doing laundry but not for toilet waste.
One of the most traditional Amish communities in the U.S. is found in southeastern Minnesota with the Swartzentruber Amish.
In a 2021 decision, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch made a statement. In light of a high court ruling a month earlier in another issue involving religious freedom, it remanded the matter to Minnesota courts for reconsideration.
The Catholic foster care organization in Philadelphia that claimed its religious beliefs prohibited it from working with same-sex couples was successful in appealing that decision.
Last September, a district court in Minnesota reached the conclusion that the government had demonstrated a “high order” compelling state interest in requiring the Swartzentruber Amish to use septic tanks in order to save the area’s groundwater supplies.
The families then filed another appeal. On Monday, the Court of Appeals agreed with them and remanded the case to the lower court with instructions to rule in the Amish’s favor.
In order to properly dispose of gray water, properties in Fillmore County are now required to have modern septic systems.
The Swartzentruber Amish requested a waiver on the grounds that their religion forbids using that technology.
2017 saw their lawsuit.
They had been dumping their gray water untreated into the ground for years. They suggested using wood-chip-filled mulch basins as an alternative.
Gorsuch stated at the time that the federal religious freedom legislation that was in question in the Philadelphia case “prohibits governments from infringing on sincerely held religious beliefs and practices except as a last resort,” pleading with the Minnesota court and local authorities to quickly settle the conflict.
According to Gorsuch, neither the Amish nor anybody else in our country should be forced to choose between their farms and their beliefs.
The Swartzentruber Amish employ some technology, according to the Court of Appeals, but they don’t own or operate cars, use cellphones, electric lights, or contemporary flush toilets.
They have traditionally forbade septic tanks and used cisterns to deliver water to their homes.
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