A South Florida case in which water managers seek power to spread pollution goes before the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 14. Some Western states want the same power. But the high court should side with lower courts, with the Miccosukee Indian Tribe and the environmental group Friends of the Everglades against the South Florida Water Management District.

Lower courts have said that the water district must get a federal permit to pump polluted water from Broward County suburbs into the Everglades. The district argues that it should be allowed to pump dirty water, laced with pollutants such as phosphorus, into pristine water without a permit -- as long as it didn't add the pollutants.

The Supreme Court decision could affect water managers in Western states, who fear that they would have to get federal permits for their reservoirs and extensive water-transfer networks. The court has received briefs from Colorado and New Mexico and written arguments from the U.S. solicitor general's office, which first urged the court to reject the case and then sided with the water district. Former Environmental Protection Agency officials, including former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, have criticized the federal arguments in another brief, saying that they could narrow the jurisdiction of the federal Clean Water Act.

The Supreme Court decision could have implications for other Florida waters routinely affected by the water district's actions. Siding with the Miccosukees and lower courts could affect whether the district dumps polluted fresh water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, for example, or whether Lake Okeechobee must accept polluted water drained from farms and cities. If the high court sides with the district, other government agencies could be allowed to dump polluted water into clean water. Other groups that might want to do that, including the National League of Cities and the American Farm Bureau, have joined the district's effort to oppose requiring federal permits.

The district says the issue is about federal oversight, which it doesn't want. But federal oversight could encourage the district not to enable pollution. The larger issue -- whether a taxpayer-supported government agency, such as the water district, should be allowed to pump polluted water into pristine water owned by the people -- is clear. No. The lower courts said no. The Supreme Court should agree.