Decision Weakens Clean Water Act  

The Supreme Court today sided with San Francisco in its effort to weaken the water quality standards in its federal Clean Water Act permit. San Francisco often exceeds these standards when it discharges polluted water from its combined sewer and stormwater system.  

The court’s ruling overturns an earlier appeals court decision that sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as decades of regulatory practice. The decision significantly undermines the ability of federal and state environmental agencies to protect water quality under the Clean Water Act. 

As a result, water quality around San Francisco where beachgoers and surfers frequently recreate may deteriorate beyond already poor conditions. 

In response, Baykeeper managing attorney Eric Buescher issued the following statement:  

“San Francisco gave the activist supermajority on the Supreme Court the chance to weaken the Clean Water Act, and the court jumped at the chance. The city’s choice did a disservice to both the Bay and local residents, and makes a mockery of the city’s reputation as a champion for environmental protection.  

“This court is plainly hostile to environmental legislation and regulation, and it is willing to engage in outcome-driven decision making to undermine environmental protections. Today’s decision makes it easier for polluters to pollute, and harder for the EPA and local regulators to protect the health of people and the environment.” 

Baykeeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh added:  

“This decision could mean bad news for water quality around the country. Congress intended the Clean Water Act to protect the nation’s waterways and provide clean water for everyone. However, the court’s action today opens the door to the Clean Water Act becoming a Polluter Protection Act, giving polluters a free pass from liability for their contaminated discharges.  

“Baykeeper will continue to defend the Bay against pollution threats, but thanks to San Francisco and the Supreme Court, this work just became more challenging. We will continue to use whatever means we have to repel efforts by unelected courts—in Washington DC and elsewhere—as well as local industries and municipalities that would pollute the Bay, threaten the health of Bay Area residents, and the survival of our wildlife.”