Opinion ID: 755346
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Orange Cove

Text: 45 Orange Cove is uniquely situated from the rest of the Non-federal Defendants. First, the Orange Cove contract was the only contract that was executed after the Bureau and the FWS had concurred that the contract was not likely adversely to affect any protected species. Therefore, for the Orange Cove contract alone, a formal consultation with the FWS was not required before contract execution and the ESA was not violated on those grounds. 46 The district court concluded, however, that even though the ESA was not violated because of a flawed FWS consultation, the failure to consult with the NMFS before executing the Orange Cove contract resulted in a procedural violation. The Orange Cove contract, however, was also the only contract executed before the winter-run chinook salmon was listed as threatened in August of 1989. Orange Cove argues that because its contract was executed before the salmon was listed, the Bureau had no duty to consult with the NMFS, formally or informally, under the ESA. 47 The district court, on Orange Cove's motion for reconsideration, concluded that until Orange Cove had the contract validated in state court, 9 the Bureau had the power and the obligation to withdraw the contract and initiate consultation with the NMFS after the salmon was listed in August, 1989. Orange Cove argues that the district court improperly decided the validation argument because it was not addressed by the parties in their summary judgment briefs. Orange Cove also argues that the district court erred as a matter of law. 48 Orange Cove implicitly raised the validation argument when it moved for reconsideration and pointed out to the court that its contract was executed prior to the threatened species listing. The Orange Cove contract, on its face, states that it is not binding on the United States until it is validated in state court. Both sides had an opportunity to address this argument in writing a year before the district court issued its January 16, 1997, Order. 49 Orange Cove argues that after the contract was executed in May, 1989, there was no agency action that would require reinitiation of an ESA consultation. However, even though the government was not under a contractual obligation to deliver water to Orange Cove from February 28, 1989, until February 22, 1990, the government continued to do so and that activity constituted discretionary agency action. The ESA regulations state that [r]einitiation of formal consultation is required and shall be requested ... where discretionary Federal involvement or control over the action has been retained or is authorized by law and ... a new species is listed.... 50 C.F.R. § 402.16. The discretionary activity of delivering water without a contract, coupled with the fact that the Orange Cove contract explicitly stated that the United States was not bound by the contract until it was validated in state court, support the district court's conclusion that the Bureau had an obligation to withdraw the contract and initiate an NMFS consultation once the salmon was listed. See Pacific Rivers, 30 F.3d at 1053-56 (ESA consultation required for ongoing projects once new threatened species listed). We conclude that the district court did not err in setting aside the Orange Cove contract.