A case challenging EPA’s approach to writing and enforcing water pollution permits will be among the first the Supreme Court considers this fall, according to the court’s newly released calendar for the October 2024 term.
San Francisco v. EPA challenges the agency’s longstanding reliance on generic pollution standards in permits under the Clean Water Act. While the case stems from a sewage pollution dispute between San Francisco and EPA, the city’s position has drawn support from trade groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Mining Association.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case on Oct. 16.
EPA has accused San Francisco of polluting San Francisco Bay and other waterways with large amounts of sewage and stormwater runoff during rainstorms, in violation of the Clean Water Act. But San Francisco maintains that EPA improperly cited “generic” terms and requirements geared toward promoting water quality, making it unreasonably difficult to comply with the law.