Life After The Chevron Doctrine: Don't Drink The Water, America
Seriously, boil your tap water before you drink it. It is no longer safe.
On June 28th, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States overruled the Chevron Deference ruling.
The Monday after, on July 1st, the Supreme Court also laid down a ruling that granted immunity from prosecution to former Presidents of the United States.
There were other rulings in the same two-week span of time that provided multiple gut punches in and of themselves, but none were as expansive and potentially disastrous as these.
These rulings sparked some discussion in the online world, but not nearly enough.
Now that Trump is in office and actively undermining every international relationship the United States has—and dismantling democracy itself, while he’s at it—these rulings have been somewhat forgotten.
There’s just so much to try and keep up with that everything from before Trump’s inaugaration has gotten lost in the weeds.
The loss of Chevron is underreported and underrated; it threatens everything from environmental regulations to the legal necessity of cancer warnings on cigarette packaging.
The immunity issue is pretty self-explanatory. Nobody should be above the law. We’re seeing the consequences of the implosion of that rule of law right now; in short, it’s a goddamn nightmare.
In light of all this, it’s not surprising that people are feeling demoralized. I know I am. It’s wearing and exhausting to spend every day immersed in news headlines and articles, listening to conversations and commentary about what’s going on and what it means for the future.
It really does feel like democracy itself is being dismantled, one heavy brick at a time.
It feels that way because it is. That is what’s happening right before your eyes.
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Democracy is a fragile thing. It requires a motivated, active population who does their due diligence and votes based on their conscience and ethical values.
It requires honesty and transparency on the part of the candidates, the media and the journalists who provide the news, and it requires that knowledge and accurate information is easily accessible and free.
It requires an electorate that actually wants it to succeed.
There’s a not-insignificant portion of the voting public that has lost its confidence in democracy and the rule of law. There’s a common refrain that gets repeated over and over again; your vote doesn’t count, so don’t even bother.
It’s an understandable feeling to have. It seems like nothing has changed; everything keeps getting worse, and the effort people are putting in is just wasted energy.
But that’s not true.
If your vote didn’t matter, then the people who want to end democracy wouldn’t be putting so much time and money into convincing you not to do it.
I wish people had gotten that message through their heads this past election season, but they didn’t, and here we are. When democracy falls, it destroys the lives of the people who lived under its protections.
It is demoralizing, but giving up is not a feasible option. Not if you want to live in a nation that values freedom, liberty, and the right to live your life the way you choose.
And make no mistake, that is genuinely up for debate right now. It’s not hyperbole to describe the Republican party of the United States as authoritarian. Every move Trump has made since taking the Oath of Office has been in the interest of his corporate benefactors—and without a thought paid to the average citizen.
Frankly, he hasn’t considered the needs of any person but himself.
I’d go so far as to call him a fascist—and I have, repeatedly—but feel free to disagree with me. Just be sure to read up on the 14 Characteristics of Fascism before you do, and come at me with receipts explaining why they don’t apply.
I already did my homework on it; now it’s your turn.
“But Sam, you’re Canadian! You don’t live in the United States, so why do you care?”
Because I live on planet Earth. And also, I’m a human being with a capacity for empathy.
Here’s the thing: the loss of democracy in the United States is not only a disaster for America but for every person in every country around the entire globe.
We live in a world that is heavily interconnected. We are connected via trading partnerships, and international agreements on defense and legal matters. We all stand to lose out if something goes wrong.
Which it is. Everything is going wrong.
The United States is, by far, the most powerful player on the world stage. And now that Trump is rampaging around obliterating America’s soft power and courting affection from dictators like Vladimir Putin, we’re all in danger.
We should especially be afraid of all of these short-sighted and ill-conceived trade wars he keeps starting.
When the U.S. economy crashed in 1929, it was not isolated to America. Europe felt the sting so badly it lead directly to Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. The Great Depression was a global event, not an American one.
They say that when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.
We also need the United States to be focused on climate action if we want to have a chance in hell at turning things around. When Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, there was a global shiver of alarm.
Biden restored membership to the Paris Climate Accords while he was in office, but it certainly made the world nervous in the interim. The GOP and their Project 2025, however, have plans to not only pull out but go even further in the opposite direction.
And now that they’ve won the White House again, the loss of the Chevron Deference ruling and Presidential immunity will give them all the power they need to do it, regardless of what the voting public wants.
Most people want climate action because they understand the stakes.
Without democracy, what the people want no longer matters.
So, let me circle back to the title of this piece. Why am I talking about Chevron Deference? What does that even mean?
I write a lot about the importance of regulation in controlling corporate power and how a lack of appropriate regulation is screwing us all over.
From climate change to poverty, no regulations means no brakes on the runaway train.
Well, now that Chevron is gone, we can expect that train to keep picking up speed. When they took it away, the Supreme Court of the United States dropped a brick on the accelerator.
Chevron Deference meant that when the legal waters were muddy around an issue of regulation—corporate, environmental, etc—then the courts should defer to the standards of regulatory agencies.
For example, if the letter of the law is not crystal clear on the limits around dumping toxic chemicals in a river, Chevron doctrine would dictate that the EPA should have jurisdiction to decide. They’ve got the experts; they know their business.
Getting rid of Chevron now means that the courts no longer have to consult expert opinions. They can do whatever the heck they think is best.
And that poses a huge problem because there are a lot of tricky legal issues with regard to regulation. Take a look at this excerpt from an Associated Press article to see what I mean:
With a closely divided Congress, presidential administrations have increasingly turned to federal regulation to implement policy changes. Federal rules impact virtually every aspect of everyday life, from the food we eat and the cars we drive to the air we breathe and homes we live in.
President Joe Biden’s administration, for example, has issued a host of new regulations on the environment and other priorities, including restrictions on emissions from power plants and vehicle tailpipes, and rules on student loan forgiveness, overtime pay and affordable housing.
Those actions and others could be opened up to legal challenges if judges are allowed to discount or disregard the expertise of the executive-branch agencies that put them into place.
With billions of dollars potentially at stake, groups representing the gun industry and other businesses such as tobacco, agriculture, timber and homebuilding, were among those pressing the justices to overturn the Chevron doctrine and weaken government regulation. — Matthew Daly, Associated Press, June 18, 2024
Again, people are not talking about this enough. This needs to be top of mind for everyone.
This year’s political shenanigans are a daring square dance of dodged accountability, legislative authoritarianism and humanitarian chaos.
We’re in a pickle. The water is rising over our heads, and we’re sinking deeper every day. Every choice made by people in power has the potential to either pull us to safety or weigh us down.
So far, we’ve been given lead chains rather than a rope to grasp.
And now, those consequences I mentioned at the top of this article are starting to rear their ugly heads. The Supreme Court took a blade to Chevron like it was walking into the Roman Senate, and now, in March of 2025, we’re watching the blood seep across the floor.
The Clean Water Act was an expansion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act that went into effect in 1948. It basically provides regulatory guidelines to protect America’s water sources against pollution, waste and sewage contamination.
It kept your drinking and washing water clean and safe.
With this new ruling, the EPA guidelines are no longer acceptable. Alito’s opinion basically says that holding a permittee accountable for overall water quality—should their contaminants reduce quality below safe and reasonable levels—is not fair.
In the United States, water quality is regulated at the state and federal level, and there are—were—harsh penalties in place for pouring toxic and dangerous wastes into it.
Now, I hope I don’t need to explain why that is, but I’m going to anyway.
Around 3.5 million human lives are lost every single year to waterborne pathogens and toxic pollutants in water. It is a leading cause of death worldwide. Access to clean drinking water is a primary and urgent human rights issue that impacts damn near every country on Earth.
And yes, that includes the United States. Waterborne pathogens cause thousands of deaths in the U.S., and take up a staggering number of sorely needed hospital beds.
A few common, potentially serious pathogens include:
Cholera
Typhoid
Giardiasis
Cryptosporidiosis
Dysentery
Polio
If you do a quick Google on any of those, you’ll find that most of them come from contact with water contaminated with human waste.
It comes from water that is not properly treated.
Now, every so often there’s a disruption in water safety. It happens. Big storms and flooding can cause a backflow and potentially introduce harmful bacteria and chemicals into the system.
Usually, when there’s a risk to public safety, the government will put out an advisory warning. You’ve probably seen one for water safety before; ‘boil water’ advisories are relatively common after natural disasters.
But with Trump in office, I’m not so sure Americans can rely on that anymore. This is the guy who wanted to stop testing for Covid-19 during the Pandemic because he ‘liked the numbers where they were.’
If you just stop testing for Covid, the number of cases magically goes down! This is how Trump thinks. It’s not about people, or the impact on American lives when disease spreads, it’s just about whether or not he looks good.
He’s already muzzled the CDC and blocked it from reporting on several important health hazards.
So, if there’s a significant threat to public health from contaminated water—especially if it’s caused by Trump-era deregulation—I wouldn’t want to stake my life on the American government’s willingness to give me a heads-up.
Rather, if I were an American citizen, I’d want to take a more active role in protecting myself. I’d probably start boiling my drinking water, buying bottled water or investing in some water purification tablets.
The CDC has some great advice for purifying drinking water in an emergency.
Showering or bathing is less risky than drinking it, unless you have an open wound. There are shower filters you can install that help remove certain chemicals and harmful metals, but I don’t know if they’re any good against bacteria.
Generally, you can get away with bathing or taking a quick shower even if you’re under an advisory—don’t swallow it, and try to avoid getting too much water in your eyes.
Clean any cuts you have with an antiseptic after bathing, just to be safe. Better safe than sorry.
This action by the Supreme Court is the first major challenge to water safety regulations since they overturned Chevron Deference, but expect more things like this to happen in the future.
It won’t stop with water. Expect challenges to food safety, clean air and chemical hazard dumps. Expect challenges to tobacco warnings, alcohol labelling, gun safety regulations and pollution limits.
Expect fire safety regulations and material requirements for baby toys, beds and car seats to come under scrutiny and revisement—not for your baby’s health, but to benefit the corporation that creates those products.
Any kind of regulation that puts a brake on corporate profits in the name of protecting public safety could come under attack.
These are frightening times. It pays to be cautious.
Solidarity wins.
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I missed that one about the deregulation of water. That's scary. Looks like I will be setting up a boil water system at my house and order in some more bottled water.
Absolutely unbelievable Sam. When Trump was last in power people here in NZ were commonly say things like 'trash fire USA' and the 'Empire of the Mad' when referring to the US. Now it's gone way beyond that.