Supreme Court ruling calls for more specific discharge permits, which could make it harder to enforce clean water protections

If our regulators are willing to act decisively, they can strengthen oversight and close loopholes that have allowed polluters to evade accountability.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 4, 2025

Photo Credit: SFPUC via Public Records Act

Los Angeles, Calif. – Today the US Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot impose pollution discharge limits on an industry or municipality based on the “end result” impacts to water quality. Instead, EPA-issued permits must include specific limitations on the amount of pollutants allowed in the discharge. In response to this ruling, Bruce Reznik, executive director of LA Waterkeeper, released the following statement:  

“This Supreme Court ruling threatens one of our most fundamental environmental protections: the ability to hold polluters accountable for discharging untreated or partially treated sewage into our waterways. By weakening the EPA’s ability to enforce permit terms to protect water quality, the ruling leaves California vulnerable to increased water pollution. Sewage discharge pollution events happen on a regular basis when heavy rain overwhelms a wastewater processing facility’s capacity, especially in urban areas and in disadvantaged communities that are already over-burdened by pollution. Sewage discharge causes serious environmental harm and threatens public health for anyone who swims, paddles or dives in our waterways, relies on fish caught in our rivers, creeks or coastal waters, or drinks water from these sources. 

“LA Waterkeeper and our partners have long called for more specific, metric-based permits with clear discharge limitations, rather than the broad ‘end-result’ permits the EPA has historically relied on. In theory, this ruling calls for more precise regulation that could reduce the amount of effluent and other pollutants released into waterways. But in practice, the ruling ignores the current political reality in which federal environmental agencies are being systematically gutted, leaving already overburdened federal and state regulators struggling to fill gaps. Also, by requiring the EPA and state agencies to set more specific limits on the amount of pollution that can be discharged, the Supreme Court majority wrongfully assumes that regulated dischargers willingly share accurate information with regulators on a timely basis, as necessary to craft specific permit terms. In the short term, accountability for polluted waterways will be hard to come by.  

“The onus is now on the EPA and our state and local regulatory agencies to step up and issue stronger, more enforceable wastewater permits that explicitly define pollution limits at their source. If our regulators are willing to act decisively, they can strengthen oversight and close loopholes that have allowed polluters to evade accountability.  

“Regardless of what happens at the federal level, California must act to protect its waters. That’s why LA Waterkeeper will continue pushing to strengthen state law protections on water quality to insulate our state’s waters from further rollbacks. Alongside California Coastkeeper Alliance and other Waterkeepers, we will continue fighting to ensure our environmental laws and regulations remain strong, enforceable, and effective in protecting public and ecological health.” 

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