Florida Backs Arkansas Seeking Reversal of Stormwater Ruling

Florida has joined an Arkansas effort to reverse a court ruling that will change the guidelines for managing stormwater runoff from forest roads.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and her counterparts from 24 other states have backed the amicus brief in Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center that was filed by Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDonald.

The brief asks the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that invalidated the Environmental Protection Agencys Silvicultural Rule. The 9th Circuit's ruling would change the classification of timber harvesting from agricultural to industrial activity.

Congress has held that states are the appropriate entities to determine best management practices for protecting our waters and wildlife from stormwater runoff related to timber harvesting. The 9th Circuits ruling contradicts more than 30 years of practice and Congresss and the EPAs directives, Bondi stated in a release.

McDonald argued that the court ruling shifts state and municipal best management practices to the EPA.

"We have demonstrated through successful BMP programs that we can protect the air and water on our abundant Arkansas timber lands. We can do without new, more onerous regulation," McDaniel stated in a release.

Other states that have joined the brief: Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.