Summary

In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court weakened the Clean Water Act by limiting the EPA’s authority to issue generic water quality standards.

The majority, led by Justice Alito, ruled that the EPA must impose specific pollutant limits instead of broad, “end result” requirements. The city of San Francisco prevailed, challenging the EPA’s narrative-based permits for sewage discharges.

Dissenters, led by Justice Barrett, argued the law authorizes stronger measures to protect water supplies.

The case marks the first significant Clean Water Act challenge since Chevron deference was overturned in 2024.

  • @[email protected]
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    23 hours ago

    I thought San Francisco were supposed to be good guys? Why are they pulling the EPA in front of the Supreme Court? Just to save some money on their infrastructure at the cost of the public?

  • fmstrat
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    96 hours ago

    The EPA 100% has a spreadsheet showing which pollutants lead up to those “end results”. Hopefully a swath of specific limitations comes out very, very, quickly.

  • @Raiderkev
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    178 hours ago

    “Let them drink shit.”

    • Clarence Thomas probably
  • @CharlesDarwin
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    912 hours ago

    Something something “drain the swamp”.

    The joke about Republicans letting the likes of Bronzo the Clown take a shit in their mouth if they thought a liberal would have to smell it now became very close to literally true.

    “Not having to eat actual shit from our water supply is just a lot of woke bullshit!” -magamorons, probably

    • @FooBarrington
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      39 hours ago

      Why don’t we just drain the swamp right into the drinking water supplies of schools? It’s a win-win-win!

  • venotic
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    4218 hours ago

    Let’s bring back lead paint.

    Let’s bring back coal refineries in full swing.

    Let’s bring back rulings against having warning labels.

    Let’s just go all the fucking way in how we can truly bastardize this country even further.

  • teft
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    23 hours ago

    Shithole country. Literally.

    • @lolrightythen
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      3920 hours ago

      Its not as if this saves money. It just shifts the expense. Purified water treatment plants are going to have to compensate for increasingly contaminated source water. I’d wager this will negatively impact nitrification. Just pollution for no societal gain. Greed, I assume.

      Ugh. I think I’ve hit my limit for bad news today. Be well, all.

    • @[email protected]
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      18 hours ago

      You’re from the UK, yes? The issue here is combined sewers; these produce overflow during periods of heavy rainfall. They’re a characteristic of older cities. You guys in the UK, with older cities, have considerably more of these than does the US, especially the western US, which are mostly newer cities built after separate sewers became the norm.

      I don’t know how you’d measure public views on the matter.

      kagis

      These guys are UK-based and studying public opinion on the matter:

      https://www.jacobs.com/newsroom/thought-leadership/combined-sewer-overflows-uk-what-can-we-learn-other-countries

      In our review, we found that CSOs in the U.K. do receive a higher level of public attention and are more heavily scrutinized than in European Union (EU) countries, while the U.S. is further ahead in terms of public awareness and stakeholder involvement.

      • @[email protected]
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        314 hours ago

        there’s prison slavery happening all over the country. “fun” fact, school districts are encouraged to purchase furniture made by incarcerated people, and can even hire them to do maintenance type jobs (like painting etc).

        shit is already fucked.

    • @Mog_fanatic
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      717 hours ago

      FINALLY! God it feels like I’ve been saying it forever but OUR WATER IS TOO CLEAN! Cannot tell you how much I miss sewage and dead animals in my water. Puts hair on your chest! Kids these days barely know what it’s like to get a little cholera or typhoid. By the time I was six I had e coli twice, and salmonella. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. MAGA!!

  • @Pacattack57
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    1015 hours ago

    If the EPA are the experts wouldn’t it make sense they should set specific requirements for water safety? What am I missing here?

  • @[email protected]
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    23 hours ago

    What do you need clean water for? You can purchase it from Nestle anyway as part of your essentials subscription.

  • @[email protected]
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    2820 hours ago

    Great, so now asshole industrialists can pollute with whatever new-fangled chemicals they want, and if it’s not on the blacklist (good luck navigating the red tape to add to that list btw), they are free of liability and the public can get sick. Wonderful.

  • @Eddbopkins
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    2120 hours ago

    This decision doesn’t sound like its in the best interest of the people. And no corporations are not people. This can only end badly.