Forest owners welcome ruling

Forest landowners said they were encouraged by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week. By a 7-1 vote, the court reversed a federal appeals court decision that had made forest roads subject to mandatory permit requirements under the Clean Water Act.

The National Alliance of Forest Owners said that had the Supreme Court not ruled as it did, forest roads used for timber harvest would have required the same industrial stormwater discharge permits typically applied to factories and other facilities.

"The court's decision validates (the Environmental Protection Agency's) longstanding policy that rainwater runoff from forest roads is best addressed through state-adopted best management practices," NAFO President and CEO Dave Tenny said.

But, Tenny noted, the same environmental organization that filed the Oregon suit settled by the Supreme Court has already filed a second suit, challenging the EPA to require additional regulation of forest roads.

He said NAFO is working with Congress to enact permanent legislation to preserve the existing EPA regulations that the Supreme Court upheld.