Opinion ID: 392942
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: standard for judicial review of ferc's jurisdiction

Text: 42 FERC's action here is reviewable pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), and the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. § 717r(b). Section 706(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act declares that (t)he reviewing court shall ... (2) hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be ... (C) in excess of statutory jurisdiction, .... This is a specific directive for us to examine the agency's jurisdiction and investigate whether the agency's interpretation of what it may do under its enabling legislation is correct. Though there is some difference of opinion among both courts and scholars concerning the degree of deference generally to be accorded an agency's interpretation of law, see generally W. Gellhorn, C. Byse, P. Strauss, Administrative Law 297 ff. (7th ed. 1979); L. Jaffe, Judicial Control of Administrative Action 546 ff. (1965), there is no question that (a)n agency may not finally decide the limits of its statutory power. That is a judicial function. Social Security Bd. v. Nierotko, 327 U.S. 358, 369, 66 S.Ct. 637, 643, 90 L.Ed. 718 (1946). See NLRB v. Brown, 380 U.S. 278, 291-92, 85 S.Ct. 980, 988, 13 L.Ed.2d 839 (1965). 43 An agency's determination of its limit of authority under statute is always entitled to some degree of respect. Cf. Pan American World Airways, Inc. v. CAB, 392 F.2d 483, 496 (D.C.Cir.1968) (decision by agency to decline exercise of jurisdiction would be respected by the court where serious statutory and constitutional questions exist regarding the court's own jurisdiction to review such declination). However, the degree of respect to be accorded to an agency's statutory interpretation of the limit of its authority varies, depending upon such factors as the interpretation's inherent reasonableness, its consistency with prior precedent, its basis in statutory text and legislative history, and whether it is based on experience or expertise peculiarly within the agency's ken. 20 See SEC v. Chenery Corp., 332 U.S. 194, 215, 67 S.Ct. 1760, 1762, 91 L.Ed. 1995 (1947) (Mr. Justice Jackson, dissenting); Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 140, 65 S.Ct. 161, 164, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944). 44 Here, the question of FERC's jurisdiction is a legal issue not implicating any expertise or specialized judgment which FERC possesses in other areas, for example, in applying the just and reasonable statutory standard to particular rate requests, or in applying the public convenience and necessity standard in particular certification proceedings. 21 Further, the assertion of jurisdiction by FERC to order a financing package of this sort is virtually unprecedented, as FERC itself admits, FERC Opinion No. 69, at 60. Under these circumstances this court has the preeminent responsibility to independently scrutinize and decide all jurisdictional issues. We bear in mind the caveat that an agency may not bootstrap itself into an area in which it has no jurisdiction by ... violating its statutory mandate. FMC v. Seatrain Lines, Inc., 411 U.S. 726, 745, 93 S.Ct. 1773, 1784, 36 L.Ed.2d 620 (1973). See Usery v. First National Bank of Arizona, 586 F.2d 107, 111 (9th Cir. 1978); see generally, Remarks by Clark Byse, Symposium on Judicial Review of Informal Rulemaking, A.B.A. Section on Administrative Law (Washington, D.C., Oct. 10, 1980). 45 With reference to administrative action specifically under the Natural Gas Act, the Supreme Court has stated that a finding of adequate jurisdiction is a key element of judicial review. In Permian Basin Area Rate Cases, 390 U.S. 747, 791, 88 S.Ct. 1344, 1372, 20 L.Ed.2d 312 (1968), it declared that the first responsibility of any reviewing court was to determine whether the Commission's order, viewed in light of the relevant facts and of the Commission's broad regulatory duties, abused or exceeded its authority. See Mobil Oil Corp. v. FPC, 417 U.S. 283, 307-08, 94 S.Ct. 2328, 2345, 39 L.Ed.2d 97 (1974); American Public Gas Ass'n v. FPC, 567 F.2d 1016, 1029 (D.C.Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 907, 98 S.Ct. 1456, 55 L.Ed.2d 499 (1978); Consolidated Gas Supply Corp. v. FPC, 520 F.2d 1176, 1184 (D.C.Cir.1975); PSC v. FPC, 511 F.2d 338, 345 (D.C.Cir.1975); Cities Service Gas Co. v. FERC, 627 F.2d 1027, 1030 (10th Cir. 1980); United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. FERC, 597 F.2d 581, 585 (5th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 445 U.S. 916, 100 S.Ct. 1276, 63 L.Ed.2d 600 (1980) (all citing the Permian language as establishing the scope of review in this area). With the scope of review thus delineated, we proceed to the issue of FERC's authority to issue Opinion No. 69. 46