Court Opinion

ID: 9527050
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:27:07.696939+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:29.355619
License: Public Domain

Justice Stevens,
concurring.
While I agree fully with the thorough analysis in the Court’s opinion, I add this comment for emphasis. For judges who find it unnecessary to go behind the statutory text to discern the intent of Congress, this is (or should be) an easy case. Not a single sentence, phrase, or word in the Clean Water Act purports to place any constraint on a State’s power to regulate the quality of its own waters more stringently than federal law might require. In fact, the Act explicitly recognizes States’ ability to impose stricter standards. See, e. g., § 301(b)(1)(C), 33 U. S. C. § 1311(b)(1)(C).