Supreme Court rules against public health, allowing San Francisco to discharge raw sewage in drinking water

 

It didn’t take long for the tRump Supreme Court to begin its campaign of rolling back protections for the public in favor of big corporations.  Announced March 4, the Supreme Court has ruled the Environmental Protection Agency has “overstepped” its authority under the Clean Water Act.  The Republican-controlled Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of San Francisco, saying “the agency has adequate tools to obtain needed information from permittees without resorting to ‘end result’ permits.  The Guardian reports that “end result’ is a new term coined by the court.

That means the Supreme Court MADE IT UP!

The court said the EPA overstepped its authority with water pollution permits that contain vague requirements for maintaining water quality, preferring specific requirements.  The permit in question was to limit generic discharges of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean after heavy rains.

Raw sewage?  Who wants any E. coli or fecal matter in their drinking water.  What part of ZERO do they not understand?  Any level of those contaminants can be harmful. I agree that it might be difficult to limit discharges after heavy rains but to relieve San Francisco of any responsibility is reckless and dangerous. 

Amy Coney Barrett was the only conservative to dissent.  Not surprising, Neil Gorusch voted in favor of rolling back protections.  If that name is familiar, it is because he is the son of Anne Gorusch, who was EPA Administrator during the Regan era.   She cut the EPA’s budget by 22% and reduced the number of cases filed against polluters.  Do you recall the character Dioxin Dolly, played by actress Audrie Neenan, from Not Necessarily the News?

Gorusch hired people from the industries they were supposed to be regulating.  Now that does that sound familiar!  Scott Pruitt.  Andrew Wheeler. And the list goes on.

This is just the start, people.  Lee Zeldin, appointed by tRump and sworn in as EPA Administrator in January, is a climate-change denier, zero science education, and tRump boot-licker.  This ruling doesn’t affect just San Francisco.  It sets a precedent that will have far reaching consequences. 

Ignoring facts or a serious lack of understanding puts us all in danger.  Look for reductions in protections for air and soil. 

 

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/epa-ruling-sewage-water

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-san-francisco-water-pollution-6874dc505a394d9181b17a0aef41406f

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/politics/supreme-court-san-francisco-poop-epa/index.html

 

 

"Not Necessarily The News" wins 3 CableACE Awards 1983

Not Necessarily the News, a favorite of mine and an HBO satire show, won 3 CableACE awards at the 5th ceremony held December 12, 1983.  The show was on air from 1983-1990 and won 14 CableACE awards during its run.

The satire won for General Entertainment or Variety: Comedy, Single Program - General Entertainment or Variety: Comedy; and Best Writing in a Variety Program.  Stuart Pankin was nominated for Best Actor in a Variety Program.  Anne Bloom and Audrie Neenan were both nominated for Best Actress in a Variety Program. John Moffitt was nominated for Directing in a Variety Program.

The same evening, Angela Lansbury won the award for Actress in a Theatrical or Musical Program.

The CableACE Awards (ACE = Award for Cable Excellence) was created in 1978 as cable television's answer to broadcast television's Primetime Emmys.  The Emmys did not honor cable television until 1988 and soon cable shows began dominating the Emmys. The CableACE Awards waned in popularity and the last awards were handed out in 1997. 

When comedy becomes reality

The other day, I watched an episode of Not Necessarily the News, an HBO comedy that poked fun at the government during the 1980s.  I enjoyed this series because of its satire, snarky attitude and political commentary disguised as comedy.  (Also Mitch Laurence was gorgeous!). This episode aired in April 1983 and I was expecting that although still funny, that it had not aged well either.

To my utter surprise, I realized how many things HAVE NOT changed.  Among the skits in this episode:

1. A celebrity for president, who has trouble pronouncing words and reading teleprompters
2. A vacuous first lady who though pretty, doesn't have much going on upstairs.
3. Dioxin Dolly, a character formulated after then EPA Administrator Anne Gorusch who gutted the program in favor of corporate interests
4. A news flash about Russian missiles heading to the US that turns out to be a false alarm.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  And it's scary