Conservative Justices Appear to Side With San Francisco in Water Quality Dispute

The conservative wing of the Supreme Court appeared to side with San Francisco on Wednesday over its challenge to water regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency that it said were too vague.The case could have sweeping implications for curtailing water pollution offshore and would deal another blow to the E.P.A., which has faced a string of losses at the court over its efforts to protect the environment.At its core, the case was about human waste and how San Francisco disposes of it — specifically, whether the Clean Water Act of 1972 allowed the E.P.A.to impose generic prohibitions on wastewater released into the Pacific Ocean and to penalize the city.The case has given rise to unusual alliances, with the city joining oil companies and business groups in siding against the federal government.Almost from the start, the justices appeared to wrestle with what was actually at stake in over an hour of highly technical arguments that centered on sewage discharge permits issued by the agency.Justice Clarence Thomas asked, “With this permit, what is at bottom the problem?”Tara M.

Steeley, a deputy San Francisco city attorney, replied, “What at bottom is the problem is that permit holders don’t know what they need to do to comply.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....