San Francisco has long used the Pacific Ocean as its toilet. In heavy rains, the city on the hill cannot store all the storm runoff and sewage that flows toward an oceanside treatment plant in a single old pipe, so some heads out to sea. Now, in a case with national implications, San Francisco is hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court will allow it to pollute the ocean on occasion without violating the federal Clean Water Act. Although San Francisco has lived under this regulatory construct for decades, it has now decided to test the limits of federal regulations with a right-leaning high court known for restricting environmental laws.
 —Written by Tom Philp, columnist with The Sacramento Bee