The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred to the Environmental Protection Agency in ruling that the stormwater runoff from logging roads is not a form of water pollution that needs a permit.
The victory for the timber industry came in the form of a 7-1 ruling in Decker v. Northwestern Environmental Defense Center and a companion case, Georgia-Pacific West v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the decision in the case, which had become an important test of the court’s deference to administrative agency interpretations of their own regulations. Though endorsing the Environmental Protection Agency in this case, Wednesday’s ruling dropped hints that it may reconsider the deference issue when an appropriate case comes along.
