WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared receptive to upholding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s right to place generic limits on ocean sewage discharge as San Francisco took its contentious battle to the high court Wednesday.
Some lawmakers and environmental advocates had opposed elevating the case because they feared the high court would undermine Clean Water Act protections.
The question presented by the city focused on whether the Clean Water Act allows the EPA to impose rules that subject permit holders to enforcement for exceeding water quality standards “without identifying specific limits to which their discharges must conform.”
Environmentalists feared the Supreme Court would go beyond the question and use the case to undermine the EPA’s authority as a whole after several high court rulings chipped away at environmental protections…