The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s water quality standards for San Francisco are legal and should be upheld in the face of a challenge from the city, California and various green groups told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. San Francisco is challenging a Clean Water Act permit for its Oceanside combined sewer system and wastewater treatment facility issued by the EPA, which includes narrative standards that the city said are too vague to comply with. The California Department of Justice said in an amicus brief in support of the EPA that narrative standards are not only permissible but sometimes “indispensable” for ensuring compliance with water quality standards.

Related wastewater article:

• San Diego Union-Tribune: Legislature unanimously approves resolution urging federal government to declare sewage crisis an emergency