U.S. SUPREME COURT & FOREST ROADS

LAST MARCH, the Supreme Court overturned a ruling by the Ninth Circuit that required permits for roads in timber lands. Now the litigants are back demanding permits because the roads are "point sources" of pollution.  It grieves me that environmentalists tie up the courts fighting what appear to be clear decisions. See below copied from the Florida Forestry Assn. News Letter.  When you want help with questions about land, call Henry Rogers, 904-421-8537 of Coldwell Banker Commercial Benchmark

***************************************************************** Forest Roads Update      An order issued last week by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals  in Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) v. Decker gave litigators another chance to seek federal Clean Water Act permits for forest roads through a new round of litigation.      The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit last March. The Supreme Court upheld EPA’s rule that forest roads don’t require permits without opining on whether they were point sources.       Quite simply, the Court did not rule on the point source question because it didn’t have to.       Now the litigators are trying to revive their argument for permits by arguing that forest roads are still point sources and that there must be some new basis out there for requiring a permit.       It is generally believed that litigation will continue as long as there is a legal theory to pursue.       The permanent fix for this issue is for Congress to complete its work on legislation and end the forest roads legal battle once and for all.       To read the Appeal Court's order, please click here. *****************************************************************

Circuit