this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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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.

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Its ridiculous when the courts are so clearly partisan. What is the point of the justice system anymore?

[–] TheProtagonist@lemmy.world 10 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)
[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

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?

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 minutes ago

The city government of San Francisco is fucking broke because they built their entire budget and town around shitty tech startup open offices and nobody ever wanted that so now it all sits empty and decaying.

[–] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 10 points 7 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@lemmy.world 20 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

"Let them drink shit."

  • Clarence Thomas probably
[–] Tja@programming.dev 3 points 2 hours ago

The founding fathers didn't have water treatment so you don't get it either!

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 10 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

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@lemmy.world 3 points 10 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@kbin.melroy.org 41 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] TheProtagonist@lemmy.world 4 points 4 hours ago

Don't forget good old asbestos!

[–] teft@lemmy.world 152 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

Shithole country. Literally.

[–] lolrightythen@lemmy.world 40 points 20 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.

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[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 74 points 21 hours ago (3 children)
[–] Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world 9 points 18 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!!

Maybe they'll have the best dysentery? That's not nothin.

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 6 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Ask the Californian prison slaves

[–] cheers_queers@lemm.ee 3 points 15 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.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 96 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

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

[–] ArgentRaven@lemmy.world 12 points 19 hours ago

Until we find that Nestle is just bottling the same tap water at twice the price. Oops!

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 14 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

But I've reached the maximum allotment, and I wanted to bathe this week!

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Come on, you're 35, you should be dead already!

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

I feel happyyyy!!

[–] rockerface@lemm.ee 19 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Would you like to upgrade to the Essentials+ with ads plan?

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 6 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I....would not? Ugh, I have to think about it

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 13 hours ago

Better hurry! This discounted offer only lasts through this weekend!

[–] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] CH3DD4R_G0BL1N@sh.itjust.works 11 points 16 hours ago

The repeal of chevron deference apparently

[–] ImperialATAT@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

That’s shitty.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 14 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Will getting cholera make eggs affordable?

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 5 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

More deaths, less consumers?

[–] rockerface@lemm.ee 3 points 9 hours ago

I guess the invisible hand of the market belongs to Death

[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 29 points 21 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@lemmy.world 21 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 9 hours ago

what makes you think drumpf gives a fuck?

[–] aseriesoftubes@lemmy.world 27 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Mmm, this Freedom Water tastes amazing

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 12 points 21 hours ago (1 children)
[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 6 points 17 hours ago

It's what plants crave ⚡

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 22 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (3 children)

ruled that the EPA must impose specific pollutant limits instead of broad, “end result” requirements.

Any scientists out there who can talk to the specifics of this?

To a layman like me, this seems like six and a half of one, a half a dozen of another.

Is asking for specificity a bad thing, scientifically and environmentally speaking?

~This~ ~comment~ ~is~ ~licensed~ ~under~ ~CC~ ~BY-NC-SA~ ~4.0~

[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 23 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

I haven't read the exact statutes, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Some compounds, like phosphates and nitrates, are well studied, and so experts can put limits in place that they know will result in good outcomes. Unfortunately, there are an infinite number of potential contaminates someone could dump into a body of water, so for anything less well studied, it's really hard to make limits. The EPA apparently just set a backstop that said something along the lines of "whatever you put in the water has to still result in good water quality".

Now that the Supreme Court has shut that down, a polluter can put anything in the water that isn't specifically disallowed. For a (fake) example, maybe Forever Chemical x2357-A is shown to hurt wildlife at concentrations over 2 parts per billion (after lots of expensive, taxpayer funded research), so the EPA rules that they have to keep it below 2 ppb. The company could adjust their process so their waste is Forever Chemical x2357-B instead, and they can release as much as they want.

The EPA basically just gets forced to play whack-a-mole spending lots of money to come up with specific rules to the point that they can't actually do their jobs.

[–] mrbeano@lemm.ee 30 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

In a 5-4 ruling written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court blocked the EPA from issuing permits that make a permittee responsible for surface water quality, or “end result” permits – a new term coined by the court.

I also don't know, but get really suspicious if Alito needs to invent a "new term" to frame the case with

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[–] culprit@lemmy.ml 6 points 23 hours ago

From a legal perspective I think it means that the permits are only able to set pre-requisite limits, but any end result can not be used to revoke it. Basically a CYA permit that allows the permitted entity to have oopsies as the end result that do not invalidate the permit. That's my poorly informed take on the legalese.

[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 5 points 17 hours ago

Thanks, I hate this.

[–] ABetterTomorrow@lemm.ee 4 points 16 hours ago

Time to start clogging the pipes

[–] tal@lemmy.today 12 points 22 hours ago

The case is City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency. Here are the legal specifics:

https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/city-and-county-of-san-francisco-v-environmental-protection-agency/

[–] fleton@lemmy.world 11 points 23 hours ago

Entering Flavor Country

[–] griff@lemmings.world 7 points 22 hours ago

Filthy water strengthens the white nation!

[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 7 points 23 hours ago

Get your RO systems now before they are tariffed.

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