This year, we’ve seen an onslaught of court cases involving stormwater. For those of you keeping track, here’s a brief summary:
- Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center: The Supreme Court ruled that USEPA properly interpreted reguions in determining that stormwater flow from logging roads does not require an NPDES permit.
- Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council: The Supreme Court ruled that the flow of contaminated stormwater between different sections of a MS4 did not trigger the need for a NPDES permit.
- Virginia Department of Transportation v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: A US District Court invalidated USEPA’s effort to use “flow” as a surrogate for limited sediment loading from stormwater discharges.
We will see how these cases are interpreted by the regulators and the regulated. In the meantime, EPA is preparing draft regulations that will establish a national program to regulate stormwater flows associated with development and redevelopment activities.