For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Today [April 23], the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a loophole in the Clean Water Act supported by the Trump Administration was unlawful. The top court voted 6-3, with the majority ruling that the Clean Water Act forbids polluters from discharging waste into navigable waters like oceans and streams without a permit - even if the pollution travels indirectly through groundwater.
“Today was a very clear victory for the Clean Water Act and the protection of groundwater by the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that groundwater is also protected under the Clean Water Act because it of its connection to surface water. This is a big win for the Clean Water Act and its implementation. For too long, polluters who have been discharging into groundwater get away with not only polluting the groundwater but also polluting the connected surface waters,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.“This ruling will protect groundwater from wastewater treatment plants and other polluters. This is critical not only in Hawaii but in New Jersey, where we are failing to implement the Clean Water Act when it comes to groundwater discharge from treatment plants.”
The case is County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, No. 18-260, which concerns Maui’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The facility treats millions of gallons of sewage each day and injects the treated waste into underground wells. However, a study by the EPA found that nearly all of the waste ends up in the Pacific Ocean.
“Even this Court, which is not exactly pro-environment, stood up to Bill Barr and Donald Trump. They were siding with Maui’s wastewater treatment facility, arguing that the Clean Water Act doesn’t apply to any pollution that travels through groundwater, which is ridiculous. That means that a polluter could discharge pollution straight into the ground a mere fifty feet from a river, stream, or ocean and get away with it - even if all of that pollution ends up in the water,” said Tittel.“This ruling strengthens the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which regulates the waters that the Clean Waters Act protects.”
A proposed 333-unit housing development in Hampton, NJ currently has applied for a Sewer Service Area along the Musconetcong River. The application requested a site-specific amendment to the Upper Delaware Water Quality Management Plan, which would establish a new on-site sewer service area with proposed discharge-to-groundwater treatment plan for residential and commercial use.
“This ruling is especially important in New Jersey. We have dozens of cases where developers are trying to build package plants that discharge into groundwater without looking at the implications. For example, there is currently an application at DEP for a massive sprawl project on the Haberman Tract in Hampton, NJ. This will include an on-site sewer area that would discharge treated sewage into the groundwater, which is directly connected to the Musconetcong River. Whatever is discharged into the groundwater from the system will directly impact this C1 river, which is part of the Wild and Scenic River system,” said Jeff Tittel.“This ruling will help protect groundwater in New Jersey and the rest of the country from pollution.”
Since taking office, President Trump has rolled back at least 95 environmental rules and regulations. In January, Trump announced a rule to replace the Obama-era Water of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The WOTUS rule is especially important in New Jersey because it protects headwaters and connectivity to streams. His new rule is more industry-friendly and excludes streams and tributaries from regulation if they do not run year-round.
“This ruling is important because it makes us feel like we have a chance to overturn Trump's recent rollback of the WOTUS rule. His new dirty water rule has loopholes big enough to fit bulldozers through. It weakens protections for wetlands, headwaters, and the connectivity of streams, which helped protect New Jersey from some of Christie’s rollbacks. Multiple states and environmental groups, including Sierra Club, are challenging this rollback in court. The Supreme Court stood up for clean water in this case. Hopefully, they will do it again for the WOTUS rule because every citizen deserves clean water,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.“It is important that the Court upheld the integrity of the Clean Water Act. When you look at whether the glass is half full or half empty, today it is half full. New Jersey needs to get rid of Christie’s rollbacks and close its own loopholes to protect our drinking water now and for future generations.”