Justices Appear Open To Narrow Ruling In San Francisco CWA Permit Suit

Supreme Court justices on both sides appear open to a ruling that would support EPA’s power to include “narrative” pollution limits in Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permits but limit their use to certain circumstances, an approach an agency attorney said during Oct. 16 oral argument the government would accept. During oral argument in City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, et al. , several justices -- including Samuel Alito, one of the court’s most vocal conservatives -- suggested...