U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the High Court reached a “puzzling” conclusion Tuesday in a case on water quality regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Why It Matters
The city and county of San Francisco challenged the EPA over the Clean Water Act’s failure to set clear, quantifiable limits.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the EPA, but the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision in a 5-4 decision.
What To Know
Barrett dissented in part to the court majority opinion, and she was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks during a panel discussion at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association on February 23 in Washington, D.C. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks during a panel discussion at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association on February 23 in Washington, D.C. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Supreme Court EPA Ruling: What We Know
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the court’s majority opinion. He said the challenged provisions “exceed the EPA’s authority” and that the agency has “ample tools” to determine what exactly a facility should do to protect water quality, rather than making general “end-result” provisions.
“Determining what steps a permittee must take to ensure that water quality standards are met is the EPA’s responsibility, and Congress has given it the tools needed to make that determination. If the EPA does what the CWA demands, water quality will not suffer,” Alito wrote.
Barrett’s opinion disagreed with Part III of the High Court’s majority opinion, which focuses on an argument raised by San Francisco that the permit’s restrictions were not “limitations.” She said the argument was “flatly inconsistent” with the law.
“In my view, the failure of that argument should have ended this case. The Court continues, however, with a theory largely of its own making,” Barrett wrote.
What is the Clean Water Act of 1972?
The Clean Water Act of 1972 is a federal law governing water pollution in the U.S.
What People Are Saying
Alito, in the court majority opinion: “When a provision simply tells a permittee that a particular end result must be achieved and that it is up to the permittee to figure out what it should do, the direct source of restriction or restraint is the plan that the permittee imposes on itself for the purpose of avoiding future liability.”
Barrett, in a partial dissent: “Receiving water limitations are not categorically inconsistent with the Clean Water Act. Because the Court holds otherwise, I respectfully dissent in part.”
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