Climate Action
Breaking the Dam: How the Supreme Court Eroded 50 Years of Clean Water Protection
March 25, 2025
For over 50 years, the Clean Water Act has been the dam holding back unchecked pollution, but with one ruling the Supreme Court just punched a hole right through it. Now our waterways, drinking water, and public health are at risk and everyone will suffer.
In a case that saw the City of San Francisco vs. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling has opened the floodgates for raw sewage, industrial waste and other pollutants to be dumped directly into our oceans, rivers, and drinking water with little to no regulation. It happened not with moral outrage or public marching or madd indignation – five Supreme Court judges just determined that clean water is no longer a priority.
This decision directly weakens the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA), which came after the first Earth Day in 1970 saw 20 million Americans marching in the streets to secure it and clean air, and strips away the EPA’s ability to regulate offshore pollution, while also making it impossible to hold polluters accountable when water quality declines. Now the court says the EPA must issue specific, case-by-case limits for each polluter, making it much harder to enforce strong universal protections for all of our water.
This ruling that most Americans will not approve for and didn’t get to vote on reverses decades of progress and may lead to weaker environmental protections overall.
Under San Francisco’s current discharge permit, existing limitations are already insufficient to safeguard water quality. The city’s aging sewer system discharges 196 million gallons of untreated sewage directly into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean while heavy rains frequently overwhelm this deteriorating infrastructure, triggering sewage overflows. These issues cause frequent sewer backups to nearby homes and businesses and contribute to dangerously high concentrations of bacteria, and even floating toilet paper.
The First Earth Day: From Black to Green
California has long been at the center of environmental conflict. From coastal flooding and raging wildfires to soil erosion and devastating oil spills like the 1969 Santa Barbara disaster that sparked the very first Earth Day in 1970.
Back then the world watched as Santa Barbara’s golden beaches turned black after a blowout at “Platform A” operated by Union Oil, spilled over 3 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean. The thick oil suffocated marine life, killed thousands of birds, and stained California’s coast, leaving a lasting scar on the environment and forever changing the way we view water pollution. Republican President, Richard Nixon famously visited the oil polluted beach and was shocked by what he saw. This disaster perfectly exposed the dangers of unchecked industrial activity and underscored the urgent need for stronger environmental protections, catalyzing the modern environmental movement in the U.S.
The public outrage following this spill created the national momentum needed to drive for environmental action, and directly led to landmark protections like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act.
Every Earth Day since, EARTHDAY.ORG has empowered communities worldwide to mobilize and use their own voices to hold industry accountable for their role in the environmental crisis. Our initiatives, such as Cities & Governments and My Future My Voice, aim to inspire leaders and communities to work together to protect our planet while amplifying the voices of future generations. The fight for clean water and environmental justice continues because the planet belongs to all of us and future generations and it’s our responsibility to leave behind oceans and rivers clean enough to drink, swim, and fish in.
The Cost of Profit Over Clean Water
A walk along the sea shore, the healthy escape of a fresh sea breeze, the first catch of the day — that’s what’s at risk. Our oceans and rivers are vital to the survival of all people and the planet. Not only do we rely on these resources for recreational and economic opportunities, but also the essential environmental services they provide.
As the largest and deepest ocean, the Pacific Ocean alone covers over 63 million square miles, larger than all of the Earth’s landmasses combined. Oceans regulate the global climate by absorbing around 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity and produce more than 50% of the planet’s oxygen. They also store 90% of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, acting as a buffer against climate change.
Marine ecosystems support an estimated 3 billion people globally, with about 15% of the animal protein consumed worldwide coming from the ocean. The ocean economy, including fishing, tourism, and shipping generates over 2.2 trillion annually and provides jobs for more than 600 million people. Coral reefs alone contribute nearly 3.4 billion annually to the global economy through tourism, fisheries and coastal protection.
Pollution and climate change are driving this delicate balance toward collapse. Rising ocean temperatures are causing coral bleaching, acidification is weakening marine ecosystems, and plastic pollution with over 11 million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year is choking marine life and infiltrating the food chain. Coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows, which store large amounts of carbon and protect shorelines from storm surges are disappearing at alarming rates. The health of our ocean is a direct reflection of the health of our planet. Without stronger protections, we risk not only losing biodiversity but also threatening the food security, livelihoods and cultural traditions of millions of people.
We Can’t Let Polluters Win
By siding with industry-backed arguments that favor corporate profits over clean water, this ruling limits federal regulatory power and grants industries more freedom to pollute with fewer consequences. Do not these bad decisions deter you from letting your voice, protected by the First Amendment, be heard.
Clean water is not a privilege, it’s a right. Join the world’s largest environmental movement! Add your name to our petition calling on global leaders to phase out fossil fuels and triple renewable energy generation by 2030. Advocate for the protection of our planet now to secure a greener future.
This year, the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, we launched Earth Action Day, to honor the legacy of the first Earth Day – as was the case then, it is still the case today – education is the foundation of all meaningful, peaceful environmental action.
Use these free materials to get educated and demand a sustainable future. Tell your lawmakers to reject environmental rollbacks, expand renewable energy, and organize town halls, cleanups, rallies, and voter drives to build real power. The time for hesitation is past. Earth Action Day is our chance to ensure a livable planet for all. Before it’s too late.
This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at [email protected] or [email protected].
