U.S.: Supreme Court grapples with how to control water pollution Thursday, November 7, 2019

CNN

The Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with questions about the scope of the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate pollutants that find their way into navigable water such as oceans, rivers and streams.

The case centers on a once-pristine reef in Maui, Hawaii, that environmental groups say has been devastated by pollutants from a wastewater reclamation facility. But it could have broad implications on navigable waters across the United States and significantly limit the reach of the Clean Water Act.

At oral arguments, several of the justices were sympathetic to environmental concerns but also seemed concerned with the breadth of a lower court opinion that could force large counties and even single family homeowners to acquire expensive and burdensome permits under the law. Over an hour -- at times testing wild hypotheticals involving whiskey, spiked punch and Agatha Christie -- they couldn't seem to settle on a middle ground position.

Read more at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/politics/supreme-court-clean-water-act-pollution/index.html