The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled today that the Environmental Protection Agency can hand over to states the authority to issue water pollution permits, even if doing so appears to violate the Endangered Species Act.

The court was asked in the cases of National Association of Home Builders vs. Defenders of Wildlife, EPA v. Defenders of Wildlife, to arbitrate between seemingly conflicting provisions of the 1973 endangered species law and a 1972 law setting forth a system of water pollution controls.

Since the 1972 Clean Water Act mandates the handover to state authorities once certain conditions are met, the court said it takes precedence over the endangered species act. Developers often need the water pollution permits before they can proceed with building projects.

“The transfer of permitting authority to state authorities . . . was proper,” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for the court, joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Environmental groups had argued that the administration position would eviscerate a key provision of the 1973 endangered species law, which bars federal agency actions that jeopardize a species and requires consultation between federal agencies.

“I would hold that EPA’s decision was arbitrary and capricious,” wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.