U.S. top court takes case that could limit water pollution law
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider limiting the scope of a landmark law aimed at curbing water pollution in a dispute pitting environmentalists against local authorities in Hawaii over a wastewater treatment plant.
The justices agreed to hear an appeal by Maui County of a lower court ruling last year siding with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund in its 2012 lawsuit accusing local officials of violating the 1972 Clean Water Act.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a Clean Water Act program requiring property owners responsible for polluted water discharged from pipes, drains or other “point sources” to obtain federal permits should apply to discharges from the county wastewater facility that end up in the Pacific Ocean.
The Hawaii Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups said in a 2012 lawsuit that the county violated the Clean Water Act because several million gallons of treated wastewater from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility ends up in the Pacific Ocean every day.
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SUPREME COURT FEBRUARY 19, 2019 / 9:44 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Lawrence Hurley
3 MIN READ
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-water/u-s-top-court-takes-case-that-could-limit-water-pollution-law-idUSKCN1Q81S2
Source: Associated Press
High court to consider case about reach of clean water law
an hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case about the reach of a federal clean water law.
The justices agreed Tuesday to hear a case involving the Clean Water Act. The act requires polluters to get a permit when they release pollution from a source such as a pipe or well to certain bodies of water such as rivers and lakes that are called “navigable waters.”
The issue the Supreme Court agreed to decide involves whether permits are required under the law when the pollutant is released into soil or groundwater but later reaches navigable waters.
The case involves treated wastewater from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Hawaii.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/b499b73ee5f844feb16282c78d3dd215
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