After the state Court of Appeals sided with the Maryland Department of the Environment, Carroll County commissioners voted 3-2 to push its stormwater permit appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thursday’s vote marked the latest movement in what has been a years-long quest by county government to change MDE’s requirements for the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4 permit. The permit oversees the systems that collect stormwater and dispense it into local waterways. MS4 seeks to reduce pollutant runoff into the Chesapeake Bay by breaking down each jurisdiction’s obligations to reduce pollution in waterways.

The commissioners voted to file a writ of certiorari, which is essentially a summary of the case that will be sent to the Supreme Court for consideration, according to county attorney Tim Burke. He pushed the commissioners to make a decision Thursday, as the deadline for filing is in early November, 90 days after the Court of Appeals — Maryland’s highest court — issued its decision in August.