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After public pressure, supervisors schedule closed session on EPA litigation
Summary
Following extensive public comment from environmental groups and residents urging the board to reconsider the city's litigation against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, supervisors approved a motion to meet in closed session with the city attorney on Sept. 24 to discuss the case.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Sept. 17 to convene a closed session with the city attorney on Sept. 24 to discuss the city's existing litigation concerning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A string of environmental organizations and residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the board to reverse course and either withdraw or more carefully review the city's case against the EPA, warning that litigation could weaken enforcement of the Clean Water Act nationwide.
"San Francisco's actions have put the fate of the EPA's ability to protect the Clean Water Act into the hands of an emboldened and activated demilitarized Supreme Court," Scott Webb of the Sierra Club’s Bay Chapter told the board, urging approval of closed session consultation with the city attorney.
Ben Eichenberg of San Francisco Baykeeper said the lawsuit—San Francisco v. EPA, as framed by speakers in the room—risks undermining a key federal tool for protecting waterways and noted that California and leading environmental groups support the EPA in the upcoming Supreme Court arguments.
After hearing public comment, the board approved item 27 as amended to set the closed session as a 2:30 p.m. special order on Sept. 24; the motion passed without recorded opposition in the transcript.
What happens next: The board will confer with the city attorney in closed session on Sept. 24. Public commenters and environmental groups said they would be seeking additional meetings with supervisors and staff to press for withdrawal or reconsideration of the city's litigation strategy.
