The nation's timber industry experienced a low moment before the high court on Monday when a last minute action by the Environmental Protection Agencycomplicated an effort to clarify a provision of the Clean Water Act. We wouldn't be surprised if the industry's lawyers and representatives downed a few drinks that evening while contemplating the possibility that Congress might soon be their best avenue for relief.
The point of clarificationinvolves ditches and culverts that drain runoff, often muddy, from logging roads. Does the Clean Water Act consider these to be point sources of pollution, as if they carried toxic goo from factories, and require the appropriate permits? The EPA historically has not taken this view, thereby sparing foresters not only the significant burden of applying for such permits – the number of which would be huge – but also the inevitable challenges from environmental groups.
Last year, however, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals laid a glue trap at the feet of the timber industry by ruling, as environmentalists requested, that the Clean Water Act doesn't say what the EPA says it does. Timber interests appealed, and on Monday the Supreme Court held oral arguments ... sort of.
Problem was, the EPA had promulgated a rule just days earlier exempting logging roads from the permit requirement at issue. Ostensibly, this gives the timber industry exactly what it wants. In reality, however, the issue is far from settled. Rather than providing clarity, the new rule could create a legal "quagmire," says Dave Tenny, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners.
The Supreme Court may now punt rather than ruling on the merits in the case, Tenny says. Environmental groups will respond by challenging the EPA's new rule in court, and the legal wrangling, once again, will go on and on.
Enter Congress. If the Supreme Court does, in fact, give the case the brush-off, Congress should act quickly on very targeted legislation introduced in both the House and Senate. The companion bills enjoy bipartisan support, including that of Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Their passage would simply provide firm legal footing for long-standing EPA policy governing logging runoff.
This legislation barely moves the needle on the controversy meter, and it would provide great relief to an important industry in Oregon and many other states. It deserves prompt passage.
No comments:
Post a Comment