Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
Md. appeals court rejects environmental advocates’ challenge to stormwater permits
Stormwater permits obtained by Baltimore City and Baltimore County met state and federal legal standards, the Maryland Appellate Court ruled Wednesday.
In a reported opinion written by Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian, the Maryland Appellate Court rejected environmental advocates’ challenge to the Maryland Department of the Environment’s issuance of municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permits, holding that the permits comply with state and federal water quality standards.
The appeal, which consolidated cases initiated in the Baltimore City and Baltimore County circuit courts, saw Blue Water Baltimore, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and various individuals argue that the permits failed to meet water quality standards of receiving waters and violated the anti-backsliding provision of the Clean Water Act, and that the state agency failed to “consider the totality of information available, resulting in disproportionate impacts.”