San Francisco is battling with itself over a Supreme Court appeal it will likely win

When the Supreme Court takes up an important environmental appeal Wednesday from the City of San Francisco, the justices will be asked to settle a dispute that at least some city leaders are desperately hoping to lose.

When the Supreme Court takes up an important environmental appeal Wednesday from the City of San Francisco, the justices will be asked to settle a dispute that at least some city leaders are desperately hoping to lose. That’s because the unusual case involving sewage discharges into the Pacific Ocean has put a city known for its uber-liberal politics in league with the oil and gas industries, queuing up a fight that the court’s 6-3 conservative supermajority may use to weaken clean water regulations nationally. “We’re setting a playbook for a lot of other polluters,” lamented Scott Webb, vice chair of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter. “It’s shocking that it’s coming from San Francisco.” Last week, San Francisco’s board of supervisors voted 8-2 to urge city officials to resolve the suit quickly, warning that a Supreme Court ruling in its favor could “greatly harm water quality nationwide.” That resolution was not binding, however, and the city’s attorney said he has no intention of backing down. “I’m very nervous about going to the court,” San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar told CNN, stressing that she was not opining on the city’s legal strategy but rather the wisdom of taking an environmental case to the conservative high court. “We run the risk of having it apply to everybody.” The hesitation reflects the fact that the court’s conservatives have repeatedly ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency in recent years and have also limited the power of federal agencies to act without explicit authority from Congress. Both factors suggest a win for San Francisco.