Litigation Update: City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency

The Supreme Court recently decided that they will review a case dealing with the Clean Water Act (CWA), which prohibits the pollution of US waters without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. In order to comply with the statute, the city of San Francisco was issued a permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2019. The permit, however, lays down narrative limitations on the discharge of pollutants, such as anything which may “cause or contribute to a violation of any applicable water quality standard.” The city of San Francisco challenged the EPA’s permit, arguing that these restrictions “expose San Francisco and numerous permit-holders nationwide to enforcement actions while failing to tell them how much they need to limit or treat their discharges to comply with the Act.” In July 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected San Francisco’s argument, finding that the narrative limitations are not too vague but are rather important to ensuring that state water standards are met. This then prompted the city to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.Join this FedSoc Forum as panelists discuss varying views of this case and what the Supreme Court’s review might bring.Featuring:Prof. Robin Craig, Robert A. Schroeder Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of LawAndre Monette, Managing Partner, Best Best & Krieger LLPModerator: Prof. Jonathan Adler, Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law and Director, Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law, Case Western Reserve University School of Law--To register, click the link above.