THE STORMWATER CASES: A REVIEW

The “Stormwater Cases,” now pending before the Supreme Court, represent a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's longstanding Silvacultural Rule. If the Rule is invalidated and the Supreme Court decides that the Clean Water Act mandates National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits for all ditches and culverts that drain stormwater from forest roads, the economic implications for both government and private industry are enormous. Although the law favors such a finding, the petitioners' strongest argument is that the nation cannot withstand the adverse economic impact that would result from upholding the Ninth Circuit's decision.