Opinion ID: 2724
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Substantial Federal Question

Text: 53 For the reasons stated in Judge Scheindlin's opinion, we agree that the plaintiffs' claims do not raise a substantial federal question giving rise to federal subject matter jurisdiction. See MTBE V, 341 F.Supp.2d at 400-03. The plaintiffs' claims arise under and will be decided under state law, and although the defendants may refer to federal legislation by way of a defense, the jury's verdict will not necessarily turn on a construction of that federal law. As the Supreme Court noted in Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson, 478 U.S. 804, 106 S.Ct. 3229, 92 L.Ed.2d 650 (1986), the mere presence of a federal issue in a state cause of action does not automatically confer federal-question jurisdiction. Id. at 813, 106 S.Ct. 3229. Indeed, words written by Justice Cardozo more than seventy years ago are equally applicable here: 54 The most one can say is that a question of federal law is lurking in the background, just as farther in the background there lurks a question of constitutional law, the question of state power in our federal form of government. A dispute so doubtful and conjectural, so far removed from plain necessity, is unavailing to extinguish the jurisdiction of the states. 55 Gully v. First Nat'l Bank, 299 U.S. 109, 117, 57 S.Ct. 96, 81 L.Ed. 70 (1936). 56 The California defendants also argue that in delegating to the EPA the authority to enact regulations requiring oxygenated fuels, Congress required the agency to give greater importance to clean air gains than to other potential environmental concerns. Defs.' Br. at 58 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 7545(k)(1)). They contend that plaintiffs' lawsuits, in seeking to privilege clean water at the expense of clean air, implicate these federal determinations and thus require the application of federal law. Id. at 59. This argument, however, presents a false dichotomy between clean air and clean water. That the defendants might use MTBE to meet fuel oxygenation requirements does not necessarily conflict with the state's goal of securing the safety of its water supply. Because the California complaint focuses on spills, leaks, and discharges of MTBE into groundwater, as well as alleged misrepresentations and omissions related to the safety of MTBE, they are entirely separate issues. A jury finding in favor of the plaintiffs would undermine neither Congress's intent in enacting the CAA amendments, nor the EPA regulations implementing them.