The Supreme Court in January upheld the right of citizens groups to sue alleged polluters for violations of federal law.

The 7-2 decision gives environmentalists one of their biggest legal victories of the past 20 years. The ruling is expected to have a major impact because citizen suits against alleged polluters often exceed the positions government regulators have pursued.

Ruling in a Clean Water Act suit filed by Friends of the Earth against a South Carolina hazardous waste incinerator now owned by Safety-Kleen Corp., the court rejected the argument of business groups and conservative legal organizations that only government agencies can enforce the law. The groups also said such cases should be dismissed if a company has stopped the alleged violation.

The court returned the case to a lower court, overturning an appeals court decision that had dismissed the suit.

Writing for the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said cases could only be dismissed if it were clear the alleged illegal conduct could not reasonably be expected to reoccur.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said the Clean Water Act's citizen suit provision 'turns over to private citizens the function of enforcing the law.' He said the court's decision 'has grave implications for democratic governance.' Justice Clarence Thomas joined in the dissent.

This is now clearly the law. Citizens suits were felt necessary in the 1970s when these laws were written, and they have proven to be so. Some congressmen are now trying to change the law. Find out if yours are representing your interests. Warn the Clinton Administration not to let this happen.