WASHINGTON – A conservative Supreme Court majority ruled San Francisco on Tuesday, limiting the power of environmental regulators to prevent marine emissions of contaminated stormwater.
The issue was a regulatory dispute over the licensing standards used by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Storm runoff from coastal cities can pollute the bays and oceans, but the city managers argued that they should not be held responsible for marine pollution unless they come from a wastewater treatment plant.
Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. agreed to officials from the city and county of San Francisco, saying that permission for the “final result” was unfair.
In the San Francisco vs. EPA, he said, “If you follow all the specific requirements in a permit, you nevertheless, and nevertheless, all the specific requirements of that permit.”
He said the EPA has sufficient authority to prevent water pollution.
“If the EPA is doing its job, our holdings should not have a negative impact on water quality,” he wrote.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett disagreed, noting that the law allows the EPA to enforce “any restrictions” to protect clean water.
The three liberals of the court – Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, agreed to her opposition.
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