U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to EPA water regulation

Source: Reuters

ENVIRONMENT FEBRUARY 26, 2018 / 9:40 AM / UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO

U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to EPA water regulation

Lawrence Hurley
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge led by states and environmental groups to an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that lets government agencies transfer water between different bodies, such as rivers and lakes, without needing to protect against pollution.

The nine justices left in place a lower court ruling upholding the EPA’s “water transfers rule,” issued in 2008 by Republican former President George W. Bush’s administration, that exempted such transfers from a national water discharge program aimed at curbing pollution.

Under the landmark Clean Water Act, permits are required for the “discharge of any pollutant” into “navigable waters.” Opponents of the EPA rule said water transfers can pollute otherwise pristine water bodies and should require permits.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that the EPA had acted reasonably in 2008 in adopting the rule over the objections of environmental groups.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-water/u-s-supreme-court-rejects-challenge-to-epa-water-regulation-idUSKCN1GA1V4