Small Businesses Support Supreme Court Decision to Reject Vague Water Quality Standards
Small Businesses Support Supreme Court Decision to Reject Vague Water Quality Standards
March 4, 2025
Small Businesses Support Supreme Court Decision to Reject Vague Water Quality Standards
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Mar. 4, 2025) – NFIB is pleased with today’s Supreme Court decision in the case City and County of San Francisco, California v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case urging the Supreme Court to reject the EPA’s generic prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that subject permitholders to enforcement and penalties for exceedances of water quality standards without identifying specific limits to which their discharges must conform. The Supreme Court agreed with NFIB’s brief, ruling that generic “end-result” water permitting conditions are not permissible under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
“Today’s ruling is good news for small business owners who rely on clear and consistent water quality standards, as promised by the Clean Water Act,” said Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “We are pleased the Court agreed that without specific permitting conditions, it would be impossible for permittees, including many small businesses, to comply with the EPA’s ambiguous standards.”
NFIB’s amicus brief argued two main points: 1) NPDES permit conditions that hold permittees directly liable for the quality of receiving waters have devastating consequences for the business community and the economy, and 2) receiving water prohibitions are inconsistent with the CWA’s text and design.
NFIB filed the brief with the National Mining Association, the American Chemistry Council, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Forest & Paper Association, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the American Gas Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Pork Producers Council, the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, and the Fertilizer Institute.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.
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