Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-260_jifl.pdf
Page Number: 46

Cite as:  590 U. S. ____ (2020) 

13 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

the EPA and the relevant state agency conclude that a per-
mit is not needed, there is always the possibility that a cit-
izen suit will result in a very costly judgment.  The inter-
pretation  set  out  above,  by  providing  a  relatively
straightforward rule, provides a measure of fair notice and 
promotes good-faith compliance. 

B 
The  alternative  way  in  which  the  statutory  language
could  be  interpreted—reading  “from”  to  mean  “originally
from”—would lead to extreme results, as the Court recog-
nizes.  And  while  state  regulation  could  fill  any  unwar-
ranted gaps left by the interpretation I have outlined, there 
would be no apparent remedy for the overreach that would 
result from interpreting “from” to mean “originally from.” 
The  extreme  consequences  of  that  interpretation  are
shown most dramatically by its potential application to or-
dinary homeowners with septic tanks, a problem that the 
EPA  highlighted  in  a  recent  Interpretive  Statement.    See 
Interpretive Statement on Application of the Clean Water 
Act NPDES Program to Releases of Pollutants From a Point
Source to Groundwater, 84 Fed. Reg. 16824 (2019).  Septic
systems—used  by  26  million  American  homes—generally 
operate by “discharging liquid effluent into perforated pipes 
buried in a leach field, chambers, or other special units de-
signed to slowly release the effluent into the soil.”  Id., at 
16812.  That effluent then percolates through the soil and 
“can in certain circumstances ultimately enter groundwa-
ter.”  Ibid.8  Congress most certainly did not intend that or-
dinary  homeowners  with  septic  systems  obtain  NPDES 

—————— 

8 According to the EPA, numerous other conveyances that deposit pol-
lutants into groundwater could now require NPDES permits.  “Activities 
listed by commentators included aquifer recharge, leaks from sewage col-
lection  systems,  . . .  treatment  systems  such  as  constructed  wetlands, 
spills  and  accidental  releases,  manure  management,  and  coal  ash 
impoundment  seepage.”    84  Fed.  Reg.  16812.  The  County  and  amici