By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a lower court ruling that had given the green light for environmentalists to sue a Hawaii county for allowing discharges from a waste facility to reach the Pacific Ocean in a case testing the boundaries of a landmark anti-pollution law.
The 6-3 ruling sent the case back to the lower court for further review and could still allow for environmental groups to prevail.
The justices tossed the ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018 that had allowed the lawsuit by the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and other environmental groups to proceed, saying it was too broad.
(This story corrects ruling vote in second paragraph: 6-3 instead of 7-2)
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
