TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Apr 23, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that sewage plants and other industries cannot avoid environmental requirements under landmark clean-water protections when they send dirty water on an indirect route to rivers, oceans and other navigable waterways. The decision stems from a Hawaii case about whether a sewage treatment plant needs a federal permit when it sends wastewater deep underground, instead of discharging the treated flow directly into the Pacific Ocean. Rejecting the Environmental Protection Agency’s views, the justices voted 6-3 that discharge of polluted water into the ground, rather than directly into nearby waterways, does not relieve an industry of complying with the Clean Water Act. The Nashville Ledger has the full story from the Associated Press.