B'More Green: In fighting for the environment, where can you stand? - Going Green: Environment, energy, living green, conservation and more in Baltimore, the Chesapeake Bay and beyond - baltimoresun.com

When - if ever - can citizens go to court if they believe a new factory or development is going to degrade the environment?

That's the question now before the Maryland Court of Appeals. The state's highest court heard arguments Monday in a case that could determine what rights Marylanders have to challenge a regulatory agency's approval of a project or activity they are convinced will cause unwarranted pollution or harm to natural resources.

The Patuxent Riverkeeper challenged a permit the state Department of the Environment granted to a developer to build a road across a stream near the Washington Beltway. The river watchdog group contended that destruction of 3/4 acre of wetlands along the stream would increase nutrient and sediment pollution downstream.