Supreme Court sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits
The Supreme Court's recent decision on the Clean Water Act requires further analysis as it impacts how the EPA enforces its permit requirements. The Supreme Court decision regarding the EPA's regulatory power under the Clean Water Act prompted extensive debate. The decision effectively restricted the application of expansive narrative permit requirements that broadly instruct facilities to "do not violate water quality standards." The Court analyzed the San Francisco Oceanside plant case and determined that the EPA's requirements were unclear. Despite the Court's ruling, the decision preserved the EPA's authority to regulate water pollution. Regulatory authorities have the ability to establish exact numeric effluent limitations as well as non-numeric requirements, including time- or weather-based restrictions. The judgment requires that regulatory bodies write permits with greater precision. The effect of the ruling will hinge on how regulatory ...