Supreme Court Will Hear San Francisco’s Challenge to EPA Rule

San Francisco claims that the standard provided in discharge permits is too vague.

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, on April 25, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The Supreme Court agreed on May 28 to hear San Francisco’s appeal of a federal appeals court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue discharge permits that order cities not to pollute water bodies “too much” but don’t provide a specific limitation.

The issue is whether the EPA is allowed to impose generic prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits that subject permit holders to enforcement for running afoul of water quality standards, without identifying the specific limits to which the discharges are supposed to conform.