In the case of Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, et al. v. Romero-Barcelo et al., 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Navy's continued use of a bombing range on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico without obtaining a permit under Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). The residents and government officials from Puerto Rico had filed suit against the Department of Defense arguing that they were violating FWPCA by not seeking permits for their activities which allegedly polluted local waters with ordnance debris. However, the court held that while FWPCA aimed to eliminate water pollution discharge completely eventually; it did not necessarily require an immediate cessation if there was no permit obtained yet. Instead, compliance could be achieved over time through application for and receipt of necessary permits after possible modifications to activity causing pollution or development/installation of better pollutant control technology.

In the dissenting opinion for Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, Justice William Brennan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). He argued that Congress intended to eliminate all water pollution and therefore required federal agencies to obtain a permit before discharging pollutants into navigable waters. The majority's decision allowed Navy bombing exercises in Puerto Rico without obtaining such permits, which he believed was contrary to congressional intent. Furthermore, he contended that even if there were some ambiguity in FWPCA’s language regarding this requirement, it should be resolved in favor of stricter environmental protection due to the statute’s overall purpose and policy goals. Lastly, Brennan criticized the majority for deferring too much power to administrative agencies like EPA at expense of judicial review.