Source: https://openjurist.org/87/f3d/1242/preserve-endangered-areas-of-cobbs-history-inc-v-united-states-army-corps-of-engineers-d-m-m-h
Timestamp: 2020-01-20 18:24:44
Document Index: 762247676

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 706', '§ 706', 'art, 906', '§ 4332', '§ 1508', '§ 1344', '§ 1365', '§ 1365', '§ 1365']

87 F3d 1242 Preserve Endangered Areas of Cobb's History Inc v. United States Army Corps of Engineers | OpenJurist
87 F. 3d 1242 - Preserve Endangered Areas of Cobb's History Inc v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
87 F3d 1242 Preserve Endangered Areas of Cobb's History Inc v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
87 F.3d 1242
PRESERVE ENDANGERED AREAS OF COBB'S HISTORY, INC., Roger
Peaster, Heidi Peaster, Johnny Plunkett, Bury
Plunkett, John Mowell and Marie Mowell,
UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, Togo D. West,
Secretary of the Army, Wayne M. Boy, Colonel, District
Engineer, Savannah District Corps of Engineers, Necholus
Ogden, Chief, Regulatory Branch, Savannah District Corps of
Engineers, United States Environmental Protection Agency,
Carol M. Browner, Administrator, John H. Hankinson, Regional
Administrator, and Cobb County, Georgia, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 96-8094.
The District Court's entry of a protective order must be reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Washington v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 959 F.2d 1566, 1570 (11th Cir.1992).
The court's dismissal of the claims under the citizen suit provisions of the Clean Water Act presents a legal issue, as does the decision to limit review to the administrative record. We review questions of law de novo. See Bechtel Const. Co. v. Secretary of Labor, 50 F.3d 926, 931 (11th Cir.1995).
The District Court's order of summary judgment must also be reviewed de novo. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Tanker, 957 F.2d 1575, 1578 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 981, 113 S.Ct. 484, 121 L.Ed.2d 388 (1992). Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corporation v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Augusta Iron and Steel Works, Inc. v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, 835 F.2d 855, 856 (11th Cir.1988). However, even in the context of summary judgment, an agency action is entitled to great deference. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, a court shall set aside an action of an administrative agency where it is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 416, 91 S.Ct. 814, 823-24, 28 L.Ed.2d 136 (1971).
The focal point for judicial review of an administrative agency's action should be the administrative record. Camp v. Pitts, 411 U.S. 138, 142, 93 S.Ct. 1241, 1244, 36 L.Ed.2d 106 (1973). The role of the court is not to conduct its own investigation and substitute its own judgment for the administrative agency's decision. Volpe, 401 U.S. at 416, 91 S.Ct. at 823-24. Rather, the "task of the reviewing court is to apply the appropriate ... standard of review ... to the agency decision based on the record the agency presents to the reviewing court." Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729, 743-44, 105 S.Ct. 1598, 1606-07, 84 L.Ed.2d 643 (1985).
Id. at 744, 105 S.Ct. at 1607.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, a court shall set aside an action of an administrative agency only where it is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Volpe, 401 U.S. at 416, 91 S.Ct. at 823-24. Plaintiffs contend that the Army Corps acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it: 1) concluded that the project was not unlawfully segmented, 2) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact and so did not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, and 3) issued a Section 404 permit.
The plaintiffs contend that the defendants unlawfully avoided the legal requirement to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for all major federal actions by analyzing this project alone, and not with the other related projects in Cobb County. It is true that the Corps cannot "evade [its] responsibilities" under the National Environmental Policy Act by "artificially dividing a major federal action into smaller components, each without a 'significant' impact." Coalition on Sensible Transportation, Inc. v. Dole, 826 F.2d 60, 68 (D.C.Cir.1987). However, just because the project at issue connects existing highways does not mean that it must be considered as part of a larger highway project; all roads must begin and end somewhere. Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque v. Barnhart, 906 F.2d 1477, 1483-84 (10th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1109, 111 S.Ct. 1017, 112 L.Ed.2d 1099 (1991).
However, the "independent utility" factor is by far the most important. "Apparently an inquiry into independent utility reveals whether the project is indeed a separate project, justifying the consideration of the environmental effects of that project alone." Piedmont Heights Civic Club, Inc. v. Moreland, 637 F.2d 430, 440 (5th Cir.1981);4 see also Dole, 826 F.2d at 69 (holding that the "logical terminus" criterion is extremely hard to analyze where a proposed road runs within a single metropolitan area as opposed to running between two cities).
The Corps must prepare an Environmental Impact statement for "major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C). In this case, the Corps concluded that the approval of the project and issuance of a Section 404 permit did not constitute a major federal action. Whether a federal action is "major" or not depends on the significance of the impact on the human environment; "[m]ajor reinforces but does not have a meaning independent of significantly." 40 C.F.R. § 1508.18.
Under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1344, the Army Corps of Engineers is authorized to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters, including wetlands. The actions of the Corps must be based on EPA guidelines, and the Administrator of the EPA may overrule certain decisions of the Corps. Under 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(2), a citizen can sue the Administrator "where there is alleged a failure of the Administrator to perform any act or duty under this chapter which is not discretionary ..."
The United States must expressly and unambiguously waive its sovereign immunity before it can be sued. See United States v. Idaho ex rel. Director, Idaho Dept. Of Water Resources, 508 U.S. 1, 6, 113 S.Ct. 1893, 1896, 123 L.Ed.2d 563 (1993). Any statutory provisions allowing suits against the United States must be construed strictly. Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club, 463 U.S. 680, 685-86, 103 S.Ct. 3274, 3277-78, 77 L.Ed.2d 938 (1983).
Section (a)(2) of the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act does not clearly and ambiguously waive sovereign immunity in regard to the Army Corps of Engineers. The statute states that a citizen can sue "where there is alleged a failure of the Administrator to perform any act or duty under this chapter which is not discretionary ..." 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(2). It does not refer to the Army Corps of Engineers. We must conclude that Congress did not intend to waive sovereign immunity in regard to suits against the Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act.5
The plaintiffs argue that this interpretation of the statute renders the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act meaningless for Section 404 permit decisions; in a case such as this, neither the Corps nor the Administrator can be sued under the Clean Water Act. However, the Supreme Court has stressed that a court's role in interpreting a statute is limited: "We have stated time and again that courts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there." Connecticut National Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253-54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 1149-50, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992).
The Ninth Circuit has specified that a court may go beyond the administrative record only where: 1) an agency's failure to explain its action effectively frustrates judicial review; 2) it appears that the agency relied on materials not included in the record; 3) technical terms or complex subjects need to be explained; or 4) there is a strong showing of agency bad faith or improper behavior. Animal Defense Council v. Hodel, 840 F.2d 1432, 1436-37 (9th Cir.1988). We need not consider these exceptions as none of them apply in the instant case
The Eleventh Circuit has adopted as binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit decided prior to October 1, 1981. Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc)
In National Wildlife Federation v. Hanson, 859 F.2d 313 (4th Cir.1988), the Fourth Circuit held that a suit against the Corps under 33 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(2) was valid because the Corps' duty is nondiscretionary, and the EPA Administrator is ultimately responsible for the protection of wetlands. According to the Fourth Circuit, "Congress cannot have intended to allow citizens to challenge erroneous wetlands determinations when the EPA Administrator makes them but to prohibit such challenges when the Corps makes the determination and the EPA fails to exert its authority over the Corps' determination." Hanson, 859 F.2d at 316. We most respectfully disagree