"The Supreme Court [Monday] weighed whether a U.S. EPA rule issued Friday could resolve a dispute over stormwater runoff from logging roads."

"The court debated in some detail whether the rule, which says logging roads should be exempt from Clean Water Act permitting, means a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling finding the opposite should be vacated or whether the case should be dismissed altogether, which would leave the appeals court ruling intact.

The state of Oregon, the timber industry and 31 state attorneys general all want the court to reverse the appeals court.

The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit ruled in favor of an environmental group, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, in finding that logging-road operators should be required to apply for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, provoking a political backlash in Congress and in affected states."

Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire December 3, 2012. [2]