Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a brief with 24 other states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a ruling involving the Clean Water Act. (Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and 24 other states, including Nebraska, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in support of the Port of Tacoma’s appeal of a U.S. Circuit Court decision that upheld a citizen’s ability to sue individuals for violating the Clean Water Act.
“We must not allow unelected, green activists to weaponize lawsuits to force woke mandates, hurt farmers, or threaten cities that are working hard to keep drinking water clean,” Bird said in a press release.
The original case involved a citizen-led environmental group in Washington, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, who sued the Port of Tacoma and its tenants for not implementing stormwater controls in accordance with the state-issued pollutant discharge permits.
In June 2024, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court ruled in favor of the environmental group. The court’s opinion said “even though the (state pollutant permits) exceeded the requirements of the federal regulations, they were enforceable in a citizen suit.”