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Forest Owners Poised to Defend EPA Clean Water Act Regulation of Forest Roads Before Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, DC, November 30, 2012 – Oral arguments are set for this coming Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC). Forest owners, operators, and the state of Oregon are poised to vigorously defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) longstanding treatment of forest roads as nonpoint sources under the Clean Water Act and urge the Court to reverse a ruling* by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, according to the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO).
“This case has attracted such widespread attention and support for the petitioners because the Ninth Circuit was so fundamentally wrong,” said Dave Tenny, NAFO CEO and President. “We hope the Court will uphold the EPA’s 35 years of success regulating forest roads as nonpoint sources through state-administered Best Management Practices that have been proven to protect and improve water quality.”
No party representing federal, state or local government filed a brief in support of NEDC. The following briefs, in addition to one filed by NAFO, encouraged the Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit decision and affirm EPA’s existing regulations, which provide that forestry activities and forest roads are nonpoint sources under the Clean Water Act:
- National Governors Association
- Attorneys General from 31 states
- National Association of Counties
- EPA
- Forestry, agriculture, business, academic and non-profit organizations
The Court will likely render a final decision in the spring of 2013.
Study results confirm that allowing the Ninth Circuit decision to stand could cause significant and far reaching economic harm to forest owners and communities nationwide.
“Reversing the Ninth Circuit decision will restore legal certainty, prevent further litigation and put forest owners and their partners back on track to help rebuild the economy, restore good paying jobs and continue to protect and improve water quality,” Tenny concluded
* In 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Brown v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center (now Decker v. NEDC) that culverts and drainage ditches along a county forest road used for timber harvest are “point sources” requiring special industrial discharge permits typically reserved for sewage plants and factories. While focused on a county road in an Oregon state forest, the ruling applies to federal, state, local, tribal and private forest roads throughout the Ninth Circuit and potentially beyond and has generated significant concern among states and counties nationwide.
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NAFO is an organization of private forest owners committed to advancing federal policies that promote the economic and environmental benefits of privately-owned forests at the national level. NAFO membership encompasses more than 80 million acres of private forestland in 47 states. Working forests in the U.S. support 2.5 million jobs. To see the full economic impact of America’s working forests, visit www.nafoalliance.org/economic-impact-report.
2012-12-01 01:21:05
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