The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider whether federal and state agencies must clearly define limits on wastewater pollution when issuing discharge permits. The high court took up the City of San Francisco’s appeal of a 2023 decision by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which upheld a permit issued under the Clean Water Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a state agency. The city claims provisions of the permit are vague and make the city vulnerable to enforcement for exceeding pollution thresholds that are not explicitly defined. The city argues that the Clean Water Act requires bright line limits and that undefined pollution standards make it impossible to comply with permit obligations.
The Biden administration on Tuesday laid out for the first time a set of broad government guidelines relating to the use of carbon offsets in an attempt to shore up confidence in a method for tackling global warming that has faced growing criticism. Carbon offsets are intended to cancel out the climate effects of activities like air travel by funding environmentally beneficial projects elsewhere, such as the planting of trees, that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Companies and individuals spent $1.7 billion last year voluntarily buying carbon offsets to support projects that would not have happened without the extra funding. The new federal guidelines are an attempt to define “high-integrity” offsets as those that deliver real and quantifiable emissions reductions that would not otherwise have taken place.
Several environmental groups and local activists have opened a new front in their long-running fight against a company that pipes water from the San Bernardino Mountains and bottles it for sale as Arrowhead brand bottled water. In a petition to the state, the coalition called for an investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, arguing that the company BlueTriton Brands is harming wildlife habitat and species by extracting water that would otherwise flow in Strawberry Creek. The coalition said that the state agency should demand the company apply for an authorization — called a streambed alteration agreement — for its pipes and other infrastructure, and should examine whether the ongoing diversion of water violates state environmental laws.
Republican attorneys general in 19 states have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block several Democratic-led states from pursuing climate change lawsuits against the oil and gas industry in their own state courts. The unusual request comes as dozens of states and local governments have filed lawsuits alleging that fossil fuel companies deceived the public about the risks of their products contributing to climate change. The lawsuits claim billions of dollars of damage from such things as severe storms, wildfires, and rising sea levels. The action specifically seeks to stop lawsuits brought by California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, though lawsuits also have been filed by other states, tribes, counties, and cities.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday filed two petitions in Sacramento County Superior Court, against the American Chemistry Council and the Plastics Industry Association, respectively, to enforce subpoenas issued to them as part of his ongoing probe into the plastic pollution problem the state has called a crisis. The petitions were filed just days after those same groups sued the state in federal court in Washington, D.C. to avoid complying with those demands. Bonta claims the groups have refused, without adequate legal justification, to provide the state with documents related to the industry's advocacy for plastics recycling. In their lawsuits, the two groups argue that the subpoenas violate their right to free speech by forcing them to reveal internal communications and confidential industry data.
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