Opinion ID: 75686
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Procedural History of Alabama's UIC Program

Text: 5 Alabama's UIC program for Class II wells 1 was initially approved by EPA in 1982. 2 See 47 Fed. Reg. 33268 (1982); 40 C.F.R. § 147.50. The UIC program approved in 1982 did not regulate hydraulic fracturing associated with methane production. 3 In 1994, LEAF petitioned EPA to withdraw approval of the Alabama UIC program. See Legal Envt'l Assist. Found., Inc. v. United States Envt'l Protection Agency, 118 F.3d 1467, 1471 (11th Cir. 1997) (LEAF I). LEAF alleged that the Alabama program was deficient because it did not regulate hydraulic fracturing activities associated with methane gas production as required under Part C of the SDWA. See id. EPA denied LEAF's petition because it determined that hydraulic fracturing did not fall within the regulatory definition of underground injection. See id. EPA decided that methane gas production wells, which are also used for hydraulic fracturing, need not be regulated under UIC programs because the principal function of these wells is methane gas production and not the underground emplacement of fluids. See id. LEAF subsequently petitioned this Court for review, contending that EPA's interpretation of the regulations rendered the regulations inconsistent with the statute. See id. at 1472. We concluded that hydraulic fracturing activities constitute underground injection under Part C of the SDWA. See id. at 1478. Since EPA's contrary interpretation could not be squared with the plain language of the statute, we granted LEAF's petition for review and remanded for further proceedings. See id. 6 Thereafter, LEAF sought, and this Court issued, a writ of mandamus to enforce the Court's mandate in LEAF I. See In re Legal Envtl. Assist. Found., Inc., No. 98-06929 (11th Cir. Feb. 18, 1999) (unpublished). EPA subsequently initiated proceedings to withdraw approval of Alabama's Class II UIC program. See 64 Fed. Reg. 27744 (1999) (proposed rule). Before the withdrawal proceedings were completed, however, Alabama submitted a revised UIC program to the EPA, see 64 Fed. Reg. 56986 (1999) (proposed rule), seeking approval of its revised UIC program under the alternative demonstration provision in § 1425 of the SDWA, 42 U.S.C. § 300h-4(a). EPA proposed to approve Alabama's revised UIC program, see 64 Fed. Reg. 56986 (1999), and conducted a public hearing and received written comments thereon. LEAF objected, arguing that approval under § 300h-4(a) was improper because hydraulic fracturing did not fall within the scope of activities identified in § 1425, and approval under that section was therefore improper. See LEAF Comments (Nov. 26, 1999) at 3-8. EPA rejected LEAF's argument, and, on January 19, 2000, promulgated a final rule approving Alabama's revised UIC program under § 1425. See 65 Fed. Reg. 2889 (2000). Thereafter, LEAF timely filed this petition for review. 7 In this appeal, LEAF argues that EPA's approval of Alabama's UIC program should be set aside for three reasons. First, LEAF argues that the underground injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids to enhance the recovery of methane gas from coal beds is not underground injection for the secondary or tertiary recovery of . . . natural gas under § 1425 and, therefore, EPA's approval of Alabama's revised UIC program under that section is not in accordance with the law. Second, LEAF contends that wells used for the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids to enhance the recovery of methane gas from coal beds are Class II wells as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 144.6(b). According to LEAF, it follows that EPA's approval of Alabama's revised UIC program, which regulates such hydraulic fracturing as a Class II-like underground injection activity is not in accordance with law. Third, LEAF argues that even if Alabama's revised UIC program is covered by the alternative approval procedure pursuant to § 1425, EPA's approval of the revised program is arbitrary and capricious. We address each argument in turn.