Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/520/154
Timestamp: 2013-12-07 14:29:27
Document Index: 416160713

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1536', '§1536', '§1536', '§1536', '§1536', '§1536', '§1533', '§1540', '§1536', '§402', '§1536', '§1536', '§1536', '§402']

Brad BENNETT, et al., Petitioners, v. Michael SPEAR et al. | Supreme Court | LII / Legal Information Institute
Supreme Court aboutsearch liibulletin subscribe previews Brad BENNETT, et al., Petitioners, v. Michael SPEAR et al.
520 U.S. 154117 S.Ct. 1154137 L.Ed.2d 281 (520 U.S. 154117 S.Ct. 1154137 L.Ed.2d 281, 520 U.S. 154117 S.Ct. 1154137 L.Ed.2d 281)
Argued: Nov. 13, 1996.
Decided: March 19, 1997.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) requires the Secretary of the Interior to specify animal species that are "threatened'' or "endangered'' and designate their "critical habitat,'' 16 U.S.C. 1533, and requires federal agencies to ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize a listed species or adversely modify its critical habitat, §1536(a)(2). If an agency determines that a proposed action may adversely affect such a species, it must formally consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service, which must provide it with a written statement (the Biological Opinion) explaining how the proposed action will affect the species or its habitat. §1536(b)(3)(A). If the Service concludes that such action will result in jeopardy or adverse habitat modification, §1536(a)(2), the Biological Opinion must outline any "reasonable and prudent alternatives'' that the Service believes will avoid that consequence, §1536(b)(3)(A). If the Biological Opinion concludes that no jeopardy or adverse habitat modification will result, or if it offers reasonable and prudent alternatives, the Service must issue a written statement (known as the "Incidental Take Statement'') specifying the terms and conditions under which an agency may take the species. §1536(b)(4). After the Bureau of Reclamation notified the Service that the operation of the Klamath Irrigation Project might affect two endangered species of fish, the Service issued a Biological Opinion, concluding that the proposed long-term operation of the project was likely to jeopardize the species and identifying as a reasonable and prudent alternative the maintenance of minimum water levels on certain reservoirs. The Bureau notified the Service that it would operate the project in compliance with the Biological Opinion. Petitioners, irrigation districts receiving project water and operators of ranches in those districts, filed this action against respondents, the Service's director and regional directors and the Secretary, claiming that the jeopardy determination and imposition of minimum water levels violated §1536, and constituted an implicit critical habitat determination for the species in violation of §1533(b)(2)'s requirement that the designation's economic impact be considered. They also claimed that the actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which prohibits agency actions that are arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. 5 U.S.C. 706(2)(A). The District Court dismissed the complaint, concluding that petitioners lacked standing because they asserted "recreational, aesthetic, and commercial interests'' that did not fall within the zone of interests sought to be protected by the ESA. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the "zone of interests'' test-which requires that a plaintiff's grievance arguably fall within the zone of interests protected or regulated by the statutory provision or constitutional guarantee invoked in the suit-limits the class of persons who may obtain judicial review not only under the APA, but also under the ESA's citizen-suit provision, 16 U.S.C. 1540(g); and that only plaintiffs alleging an interest in the preservation of endangered species fall within the zone of interests protected by the ESA.
This is a challenge to a biological opinion issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 87 Stat. 884, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., concerning the operation of the Klamath Irrigation Project by the Bureau of Reclamation, and the project's impact on two varieties of endangered fish. The question for decision is whether the petitioners, who have competing economic and other interests in Klamath Project water, have standing to seek judicial review of the biological opinion under the citizen-suit provision of the ESA, §1540(g)(1), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 80 Stat. 392, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq.
* The ESA requires the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations listing those species of animals that are "threatened'' or "endangered'' under specified criteria, and to designate their "critical habitat.'' 16 U.S.C. 1533. The ESA further requires each federal agency to "insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such agency . . . is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the Secretary . . . to be critical.'' §1536(a)(2). If an agency determines that action it proposes to take may adversely affect a listed species, it must engage in formal consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, as delegate of the Secretary, ibid.; 50 CFR §402.14 (1995), after which the Service must provide the agency with a written statement (the Biological Opinion) explaining how the proposed action will affect the species or its habitat, 16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(3)(A). If the Service concludes that the proposed action will "jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat,'' §1536(a)(2), the Biological Opinion must outline any "reasonable and prudent alternatives'' that the Service believes will avoid that consequence, §1536(b)(3)(A). Additionally, if the Biological Opinion concludes that the agency action will not result in jeopardy or adverse habitat modification, or if it offers reasonable and prudent alternatives to avoid that consequence, the Service must provide the agency with a written statement (known as the "Incidental Take Statement'') specifying the "impact of such incidental taking on the species,'' any "reasonable and prudent measures that the Service considers necessary or appropriate to minimize such impact,'' and setting forth "the terms and conditions . . . that must be complied with by the Federal agency . . . to implement those measures.'' §1536(b)(4).
The Klamath Project, one of the oldest federal reclamation schemes, is a series of lakes, rivers, dams and irrigation canals in northern California and southern Oregon. The project was undertaken by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Reclamation Act of 1902, 32 Stat. 388, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 371 et seq., and the Act of Feb. 9, 1905, 33 Stat. 714, and is administered by the Bureau of Reclamation, which is under the Secretary's jurisdiction. In 1992, the Bureau notified the Service that operation of the project might affect the Lost River Sucker (Deltistes luxatus) and Shortnose Sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris), species of fish that were listed as endangered in 1988, see 53 Fed.Reg. 27130-27133 (1988). After formal consultation with the Bureau in accordance with 50 CFR §402.14 (1995), the Service issued a Biological Opinion which concluded that the ""long-term operation of the Klamath Project was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the Lost River and shortnose suckers.''' App. to Pet. for Cert. 3. The Biological Opinion identified "reasonable and prudent alternatives'' the Service believed would avoid jeopardy, which included the maintenance of minimum water levels on Clear Lake and Gerber reservoirs. The Bureau later notified the Service that it intended to operate the project in compliance with the Biological Opinion.
Petitioners, two Oregon irrigation districts that receive Klamath Project water and the operators of two ranches within those districts, filed the present action against the director and regional director of the Service and the Secretary of the In