Sander Kushen, sander.kushen@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Supreme Court ruled against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco v. EPA, significantly limiting the Agency’s ability to impose standards for water quality from unforeseen pollution to protect public health. The 5-4 decision significantly hinders the EPA’s authority to protect America’s water. The case began when San Francisco challenged EPA regulations in an attempt to avoid being penalized for discharging sewage into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean.
San Francisco's side of the case was supported by major polluters, including the National Mining Association, American Petroleum Institute, American Gas Association and American Chemistry Council. Opposing the city were public interest environmental groups, small business owners and fishermen, the State of California and 14 other states.
In response, Sanjay Narayan, Chief Appellate Counsel of Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, released the following statement:
“SCOTUS’s decision ignores the basic reality of how water bodies and water pollution work, and could stymie the ability of the EPA to implement the Clean Water Act, a bedrock environmental law that has kept water safe for the last 50 years.
“Because the EPA is not allowed to include health-based standards when regulating water pollution, it'll need to know everything about what might be discharged before a clean-water permit can be issued—making the permitting process delayed and incredibly expensive. The result is likely to be a new system where the public is regularly subjected to unsafe water quality.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.