Opinion ID: 3052381
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: We review de novo questions of subject matter jurisdiction, Ecology Ctr., Inc. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 192 F.3d 922, 924 (9th Cir. 1999); the legal question of whether a statute of limitations applies, Sierra Club v. Penfold, 857 F.2d 1307, 1315 (9th Cir. 1988) (as amended); a district court’s grant of summary judgment, Envtl. Prot. Info. Ctr. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 451 F.3d 1005, 1008 (9th Cir. 2006); and the legal question of whether a plaintiff has exhausted the necessary administrative remedies, Great Basin Mine Watch v. Hankins, 456 F.3d 955, 961 (9th Cir. 2006). Under 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(C), the provision we apply to the plaintiffs’ first cause of action, we must “set aside agency NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES v. EPA 9037 action” that is “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right.” This standard requires the application of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984). See, e.g., Nat’l Mining Ass’n v. Fowler, 324 F.3d 752, 758 (D.C. Cir. 2003); Anna Jacques Hosp. v. Leavitt, 537 F. Supp. 2d 24, 2930 (D.D.C. 2008) (“To determine if the Secretary exceeded his statutory authority in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(C), the Court must engage in the two-step inquiry required by Chevron.”). When “reviewing an agency’s statutory interpretation under the APA’s ‘not in accordance with law’ standard,” see 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), the standard applied to the plaintiffs’ second cause of action, we also “adhere to the familiar two-step test of Chevron.” Holland v. Nat’l Mining Ass’n, 309 F.3d 808, 815 (D.C. Cir. 2002); cf. Cleveland v. Ohio, 508 F.3d 827, 838 (6th Cir. 2007) (“Agency action is ‘not in accordance with the law’ when it is in conflict with the language of the statute . . . .”). We review the district court’s remedial order for abuse of discretion. Biological Legal Found. v. Badgley, 309 F.3d 1166, 1176 (9th Cir. 2002).