Hoooooboy.
...The case is Georgia-Pacific West, Inc. et al. v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, reversing more than 35 years of practice and statutory interpretation, that runoff of rain water from forest roads that passes through one or more pipes or culverts constitutes point source pollution that must be permitted through the EPA’s NPDES program. 640 F.3d 1063. If this ruling is upheld, the EPA will be charged with regulating the runoff of uncontaminated rain water from vast areas of public and private land. It is not clear how many permits would need to be applied for and issued, but the number may be in the millions.
Note well: this case was brought not by EPA, but by GreenGoddess worshipers.
HT: PowerLine
I wonder how long before EPA requires me to get a storm water permit for my home and an SPCC for that 5-gallons of gasoline I keep in my garage.
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