Opinion ID: 388147
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was the permit as issued in compliance with FLPMA?

Text: 55 Specifically, the Landowners claim that the permit is void because the BLM did not comply with §§ 503 and 505 of FLPMA. Section 503 deals with right-of-way corridors and reads: (T)he utilization of rights-of-way in common shall be required to the extent practical .... In designating right-of-way corridors and in determining whether to require that rights-of-way be confined to them, the Secretary concerned shall take into consideration national and State land use policies, environmental quality, economic efficiency .... 43 U.S.C. § 1763 (1976). 56 The Landowners contend the permit is void under this section because the BLM limited its inquiry solely to the impact the right-of-way would have on Ringold Island. The Landowners point to the fact that a BLM agent who signed the permit testified that although he believed it was the BLM's responsibility under FLPMA to make an investigation of the potential difficulty of not having a right-of-way corridor, the BLM did not make such an investigation. 57 Section 505 specifies terms and conditions that must be met before the permit can be authorized and provides, in pertinent part: 58 Each right-of-way shall contain (a) terms and conditions which will ... (iii) require compliance with applicable air and water quality standards established by or pursuant to applicable Federal or State law; and (iv) require compliance with State standards for public health and safety, (and) environmental protection, ... if those standards are more stringent than applicable Federal standards; and (b) such terms and conditions as the Secretary concerned deems necessary to ... (v) require location of the right-of-way along a route that will cause least damage to the environment, taking into consideration feasibility and other relevant factors .... 59 43 U.S.C. § 1765 (1976). 60 Landowners claim that a number of requirements of § 505 were not met. They claim that the BLM did not investigate or consider federal or state water quality standards, the State of Washington's Environmental Policy Act or other state or county health, safety, or energy acts. They contend that the BLM did not investigate or consider which route for the power line would cause the least damage to the environment. The Landowners state that the reason the BLM did not fully comply with the Act was that Mr. Martin, the officer who processed the application, treated the BPA differently from other applicants in that he relied on the BPA to fulfill some of the requirements of FLPMA. 61 A brief outline of the chronology of pertinent events may help put the facts in proper perspective. FLPMA was enacted in October of 1976. The BLM was given interim guidelines for the processing of right-of-way applications under the Act in a directive of December 14, 1976 (Organic Act Directive No. 76-15 (OAD)). This OAD instructed the BLM to continue to process the applications under certain sections of the Code of Federal Regulations (43 C.F.R. §§ 2800 & 2850) as had been done previously, until the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) published new regulations. At this time the BPA was a part of the Department of the Interior (the Department) as was the BLM. The right-of-way application was received by the BLM on April 18, 1977 and was approved on June 17, 1977. On the first of October 1977, just a year after the enactment of FLPMA, the BPA was transferred to the newly created Department of Energy. 62 As is evident, the BLM was processing this application under a new statute, with only interim guidelines for assistance in interpreting it. We agree with the Landowners that the BLM, and Mr. Martin in particular, treated the BPA's application differently than it would have an application from a private individual or an agency not under the jurisdiction of the Department. This he freely admitted. But, this is so because he acted under what he believed was the proper interpretation of FLPMA. 5 FLPMA refers to what the Secretary must see is done before the BLM can grant a right-of-way. The BLM believed that the Secretary could delegate the responsibility for fulfilling the Act to different agencies of the Department, and that some of the responsibility was delegated to the BPA and some to the BLM. The BLM could, therefore, rely on particular determinations made by the BPA, such as the selection of the appropriate route, because the BPA had a procedure for doing this to fulfill its obligations under other federal laws. Thus, the BLM reasoned, as long as the requirements of FLPMA were met by either of these two sister agencies, then the Department's responsibility under the Act was met, and a permit could be validly issued. 63 Our first question is whether we accept this interpretation of FLPMA in this case because the BLM did not, on its own, meet all of the requirements of FLPMA. 64 The United States Supreme Court has consistently held that a federal agency's statutory interpretation, while not binding, is to be given great deference by reviewing courts. Zenith Radio Corp. v. United States, 437 U.S. 443, 450, 98 S.Ct. 2441, 2445, 57 L.Ed.2d 337 (1978); Udall v. Tallman, 380 U.S. 1, 16, 85 S.Ct. 792, 801, 13 L.Ed.2d 616 (1965); Unemployment Compensation Commission v. Aragon, 329 U.S. 143, 153, 67 S.Ct. 245, 250, 91 L.Ed. 136 (1946). See Good Samaritan Hospital, Corvallis v. Mathews, 609 F.2d 949, 954 (9th Cir. 1979) (if an agency's interpretation of a statute or regulation is not clearly outside its authority, then the courts should defer to the agency's expertise); Baker v. United States, 613 F.2d 224, 226-27 (9th Cir. 1980). This is particularly true when the statute is new. Moreover, an administrative 'practice has peculiar weight when it involves a contemporaneous construction of a statute by the (persons) charged with the responsibility of setting its machinery in motion, of making the parts work efficiently and smoothly while they are yet untried and new.'  Zenith Radio Corp., 437 U.S. at 450, 98 S.Ct. at 2445 (quoting Norwegian Nitrogen Products Co. v. United States, 288 U.S. 294, 315, 53 S.Ct. 350, 358, 77 L.Ed. 796 (1933)). The standard of judicial review is whether the agency interpretation was reasonable. It does not have to be the only reasonable construction or the interpretation that a court would choose if first presented with the question; it only must be a reasonable interpretation. Train v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., 421 U.S. 60, 75, 95 S.Ct. 1470, 1479-80, 43 L.Ed.2d 731 (1975); Udall, 380 U.S. at 16, 85 S.Ct. at 801; Unemployment Compensation Commission, 329 U.S. at 153-54, 67 S.Ct. at 250-51. 65 Applying this standard to the case at hand, we find that the interpretation of FLPMA used by the BLM was reasonable under the circumstances. FLPMA had been enacted only approximately six months before the BPA's application. There were only interim guidelines in effect to help the agency process the application. It is not unreasonable for the processing agent to interpret the statute to mean that the Department as a whole should meet the requirements of FLPMA since the Act refers to the Secretary and what he needs to do. 66 This reasoning is strengthened by the fact that neither the parties nor this court has found any cases that would have suggested to the BLM a different interpretation of these particular sections of the Act. FLPMA's legislative history on these sections is also very general and does not address this problem. Moreover, this was the way the BLM had acted prior to FLPMA, and § 310, 43 U.S.C. § 1740 (1976), and the OAD instructed the BLM to continue under old procedures until new guidelines were released. 67 Because we find this interpretation reasonable, we are faced with the question of whether the provisions of FLPMA have been met using this interpretation. Under this interpretation the permit is valid if the provisions of FLPMA have been met by either the BPA or the BLM. We find that they have been sufficiently fulfilled to uphold the right-of-way permit as issued by the BLM. 68 First, we note that this is not a case where the BLM simply signed an application blindly. The BPA applied for the permit only after having completed its EIS and after having determined what it thought was the optimum location, use, maintenance, and construction of the power line. The BLM reviewed the EIS and the BPA's construction specifications, checked the application against the requirements of CFR §§ 2800 and 2850, and did its own investigation of many of the relevant factors. Meetings were held with the BPA and field inspections were done on the island. The BLM then issued a Land Report that outlined its findings and concluded that FLPMA's requirements had been met. In the permit granting the right-of-way, the BLM stipulated ten conditions to the grant designed to further mitigate any possible environmental damages. 6 69 Contrary to the Landowners' allegations, the BLM did recognize the existence of federal, state, and county laws. The report recognized state and local programs such as state zoning ordinances and found that this project did not conflict with existing zoning. The BLM reviewed federal and state environmental and water quality laws and even put a condition in the grant that seeded areas would be mulched in accordance with Washington standards. Moreover, the BPA investigated federal and state safety, health, environment, and water quality laws and also put a clause in its Memorandum of Understanding with the BLM that it would meet state standards when the standards did not conflict with the federal standards it is bound to follow. The BLM believed the BPA would fulfill this obligation and there is no allegation that the BPA is not complying with its agreements. 70 As to the decision of what route would cause the least environmental damage, the BLM, based on the information supplied to it in the BPA's EIS and its own brief analysis of the routes and knowledge of the area, believed that this requirement had been complied with. More importantly, there is no question that the examination done by BPA which resulted in the EIS is sufficient for purposes of FLPMA. 71 As to the allegation of the lack of compliance with § 503, in its report the BLM noted that there were no parallel corridors existing in this location. The BLM also put language in the permit reserving the right to grant additional rights-of-way or permits for compatible uses on, over, under, or adjacent to the land involved in this grant. And again, a more detailed examination of possible corridors was included in the consideration of alternatives prepared by the BPA. Thus, the two agencies of the Department sufficiently complied with § 503 in this case. 72 2. Was the BLM, in Issuing the FLPMA Permit, Required to Consider Lands in which the United States has Retained Mineral Rights? 73 The Landowners raise a second argument about the validity of the permit issued by the BLM to the BPA pursuant to FLPMA. They claim that because in some of the privately owned lands the power line crosses, the United States has retained mineral rights, the BLM should have required a right-of-way permit to cross these lands. The BLM concedes that it did not require the BPA to obtain a FLPMA permit for these lands. 74 Section 501(a) of FLPMA states that the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to the public lands ... (is) authorized to grant, issue, or renew rights-of-way, over, upon, under, or through such lands for ... (4) systems for generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy .... 43 U.S.C. § 1761(a) (1976). Public lands is defined by § 103(e) as: any land and interest in land owned by the United States within the several States and administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management, without regard to how the United States acquired ownership .... 43 U.S.C. § 1702(e) (1976). 75 The Landowners make the following argument: (1) when the lands were conveyed to the private parties the United States retained the mineral rights, (2) the mineral rights are administered by the BLM, (3) the mineral rights are interests in land, and (4) therefore, the privately held lands fit the definition of public lands in § 103(e). 76 The district court rejected this argument, holding that the term public lands in FLPMA should be interpreted in its traditional sense, and that the traditional meaning is land subject to sale or other disposal under general laws. Newhall v. Sanger, 92 U.S. 761, 763, 23 L.Ed. 769 (1875). Thus, because the land in question did not fit that description, the district court held that FLPMA excluded from its right-of-way requirement privately held land even though the United States retained a mineral interest therein. We agree. 77 The legislative history of FLPMA gives us the starting point for our inquiry. When FLPMA was first introduced in Congress, the term national resource lands was used. 122 Cong.Rec. 4035 (1976). Later the congressional Joint Committee decided the statute would retain the traditional use of the term 'public lands,'  H.Conf.Rep.No. 1724, 94th Cong., 2d Sess., 57, reprinted in, (1976) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News, 6175, 6229, thus clearly indicating that Congress wanted FLPMA to incorporate the term's traditional meaning. There was no further discussion of the term in Congress. 78 The Act as passed also suggests that Congress intended to incorporate the traditional meaning. The only definition given is the one quoted above, whose brevity would indicate that no major change of use was intended. In addition, FLPMA § 310 states that the BLM should continue to use existing rules and regulations until the Secretary has promulgated new ones, 43 U.S.C. § 1740 (1976), and BLM officials testified that the Secretary had not made a new official or unofficial interpretation of the term under this Act. There also is no conflicting judicial authority because no cases have yet interpreted this section. 79 We find that FLPMA mandates that the traditional meaning of public lands be followed. This is clear from the Act's legislative history, and from the Act itself. Thus, we must determine what the meaning is. 80 The United States Supreme Court has consistently held that public lands means lands which are subject to sale or other disposal under general laws, Northern Lumber Co. v. O'Brien, 204 U.S. 190, 196, 27 S.Ct. 249, 251, 51 L.Ed. 438 (1907) (unanimous opinion); Bardon v. Northern Pacific Railway, 145 U.S. 535, 538, 12 S.Ct. 856, 857, 36 L.Ed. 806 (1892) (unanimous opinion); Newhall, 92 U.S. at 763, and does not include (a)ll land, to which any claims or rights of others have attached. Payne v. Central Pacific Railway, 255 U.S. 228, 237-38, 41 S.Ct. 314, 316-17, 65 L.Ed. 598 (1921) (unanimous opinion); Northern Lumber Co., 204 U.S. at 196, 27 S.Ct. at 250; Bardon, 145 U.S. at 538, 12 S.Ct. at 857; see United States v. Hemmer, 241 U.S. 379, 385-86, 36 S.Ct. 659, 662, 60 L.Ed. 1055 (1916) (unanimous opinion). This has been held to be the meaning habitually used in acts of Congress, unless a statute explicitly provides for a different meaning for the term. Bardon, 145 U.S. at 543, 12 S.Ct. at 859. Moreover, this meaning has been used continually in many congressional acts that the Secretary of the Interior has had to interpret. Payne, 255 U.S. 231, 41 S.Ct. 314; Minnesota v. Hitchcock, 185 U.S. 373, 22 S.Ct. 650, 46 L.Ed. 954 (1902); Newhall, 92 U.S. 761, 23 L.Ed. 769. 81 We thus hold that privately held lands in which the United States has retained mineral rights are not subject to FLPMA's right-of-way requirements. They are not public lands as defined by the Supreme Court because they clearly are not subject to sale under general laws, and there certainly are other claims or rights attached to them. Consequently, we hold that the FLPMA right-of-way permit, as issued, is valid. 82 E. Must the BPA Comply with the Standards of the Washington State Energy Facility Siting Act and the Franklin County Comprehensive Plan and Receive a Certificate from the Governor of Washington? 83 Intervenors, the State of Washington and Franklin County, argue that the FLPMA right-of-way permit issued by the BLM to the BPA obligated the BPA to comply with Washington's Energy Facility Siting Act (Siting Act), Wash.Rev.Code § 80.50 et seq. (1974), and with Franklin County's land use regulations. Further, they contend that this means that the BPA must meet the substantive standards of the state's Siting Act, for example tower heights and spacing, and that the BPA must also go through the state's regulatory process and receive a certificate from the Governor. The BPA did not apply for a certificate. We do not know if the project meets the Act's substantive standards, but Intervenors do not present any evidence that it does not. 84 The BPA's right-of-way permit is subject to the provisions, limitations, and conditions of Title V of FLPMA. Thus, because the permit does not add any requirements of its own, the issue is what does FLPMA obligate the BPA to do. The important section for our inquiry is § 505: 85 Each right-of-way shall contain (a) terms and conditions which will ... (iv) require compliance with State standards for public health and safety, environmental protection, and siting, construction, operation, and maintenance of or for rights-of-way for similar purposes if those standards are more stringent than applicable Federal standards .... 86 43 U.S.C. § 1765 (1976) (emphasis added). 87 The precise issue of statutory interpretation involved is the meaning of the phrase compliance with State standards. Does it refer only to the state's substantive requirements, or does it include the state's regulatory procedures as well? 88 The parties agree that the rule established by the United States Supreme Court in Hancock v. Train, 426 U.S. 167, 96 S.Ct. 2006, 48 L.Ed.2d 555 (1976), and its companion case, EPA v. State Water Resources Control Board, 426 U.S. 200, 96 S.Ct. 2022, 48 L.Ed.2d 578 (1976), controls this case. Both of these cases involved a federal installation that was emitting pollution in a state that had a permitting system to regulate such polluters. The question presented was whether the federal installation had to apply for and receive a permit from the state, and had to meet the substantive standards of the state act, or whether it only had to get a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency and meet the federal standards. 89 In these cases the Supreme Court held that a federal agency performing a federal function is not required to submit to a state regulatory procedure, absent a clear and unambiguous congressional statement to that effect. Hancock, 426 U.S. at 179, 96 S.Ct. at 2013; EPA, 426 U.S. at 211, 96 S.Ct. at 2028. 90 Hancock involved the statutory interpretation of § 118 of the Clean Air Act. Section 118 reads: 91 Each department, agency, and instrumentality of the ... Federal Government ... (2) engaged in any activity resulting, or which may result, in the discharge of air pollutants, shall comply with Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements respecting control and abatement of air pollution to the same extent that any person is subject to such requirements. 92 42 U.S.C. § 1857f (1970) (emphasis added). 93 The statute in EPA was the Federal Water Pollution Prevention and Control Act Amendments (Water Pollution Act), 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. (Supp.IV 1974). Section 313, the relevant provision, is virtually identical to the statute involved in Hancock, except for a reference to service charges: 94 Each department, agency, or instrumentality of the ... Federal Government ... (2) engaged in any activity resulting, or which may result, in the discharge or runoff of pollutants shall comply with Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements respecting control and abatement of pollution to the same extent that any person is subject to such requirements, including the payment of reasonable service charges. 95 33 U.S.C. § 1323 (Supp.IV 1974) (emphasis added). 96 In interpreting these statutes, the Court made a distinction between being required to meet the state's substantive standards, the level of pollutants allowed, and being required to go through the regulatory process and obtain a permit from the state. 97 First, in both of these cases, the Court found that the federal installation did not have to go through the state's regulatory process. In Hancock, the Court discussed the established principle of federal supremacy over the states. It is a seminal principle of our law 'that the constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof are supreme; that they control the constitution and laws of the respective States, and cannot be controlled by them.'  Hancock, 426 U.S. at 178, 96 S.Ct. at 2012 (quoting M'Culloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 426, 4 L.Ed. 579 (1819)). This principle, the Court stated, included the concept  'that the activities of the Federal Government are free from regulation by any state.'  Id., 426 U.S. at 178, 96 S.Ct. at 2012 (quoting Mayo v. United States, 319 U.S. 441, 445, 63 S.Ct. 1137, 1139, 87 L.Ed. 1504 (1943) (footnote omitted)). Although Congress can make exceptions to this principle in specific cases, Congress must clearly and unambiguously state its intention to do so. Id., 426 U.S. at 179, 96 S.Ct. at 2013. 98 Applying this principle to § 118 of the Clean Air Act, the Hancock Court found that this statute did not clearly state that Congress intended to subject federal agencies to state permits. 426 U.S. at 180, 96 S.Ct. at 2013. The statute referred only to requirements; it did not speak of procedures. It did not say that federal installations must comply with all federal, state, and local requirements to the same extent as any other person, or even with all requirements of the applicable state implementation plan. Id. at 182, 96 S.Ct. at 2014. To have required the federal agency to get a permit, the Court stated, would give the states undue control over the federal installation. The permitting system did more than simply regulate the amount of pollutants because the state could forbid the installation from operating if it did not have a permit, even if the installation complied with the pollution standards. Congress, the Court found, had not intended such an extreme delegation of power from the federal agency to the states. The statement that the federal agency had to comply with state requirements was simply not a clear enough expression of congressional intent that the federal installation should be subject to state regulatory procedures. Id. at 180, 96 S.Ct. at 2013. Similarly, because § 313 of the Water Pollution Act was virtually identical and there was no significantly different legislative history, the EPA Court also held that the federal installation did not have to obtain a permit from the state to operate. EPA, 425 U.S. at 227, 96 S.Ct. at 2035. 99 Second, in both these cases, the Court held that the federal agency did have to meet the level of pollutants the state's acts required private individuals to meet. This, the Court found, was unquestionably required by the plain language of these statutes, as well as from their legislative historys. For example, in examining the legislative history of § 118, the Hancock Court noted that the House bill said that federal installations must comply with Federal, State, interstate, and local emission standards. The Senate amendments used the terms emission standards, and emission requirements interchangeably. There was no mention of any disagreement over which term to use, or explanation why one was chosen over the other. The Court thus determined that requirements was synonomous with standards in this case, Hancock, 426 U.S. At 189, 96 S.Ct. at 2017, and that standards meant emission limitations and compliance schedules. Id. Therefore, Congress had clearly expressed its desire that the federal installation abate its pollution to the same extent as any other contaminant source, and under the substantive standards that the state had prescribed. Again, because § 313 of the Water Pollution Act also used the term requirements and had similar legislative history, the Court held the same way in EPA. 426 U.S. at 227, 96 S.Ct. at 2035. 100 Returning to the case at hand, our inquiry is the statutory interpretation of § 505 of FLPMA, specifically the phrase compliance with State standards. We find, first, that this clearly indicates congressional intent that the BPA meet the substantive standards of the State of Washington's Siting Act. This question is easier in this case than it was in Hancock or EPA. In those cases the Supreme Court found reasons why the term requirements meant standards, and that standards meant the substantive standards of the state's act. Here, the statute already says standards we are saved a step in the analysis. 101 This interpretation is also warranted by the legislative history of FLPMA. The Senate bill asked that the Secretary of the Interior  'insofar as he finds feasible and proper' ... 'coordinate' BLM plans with State and local land use plans, ... (and) 'consider current use and zoning patterns of land affected by the use of' BLM lands. 122 Cong.Rec. 24699 (1976) (emphasis added). The House version required that right-of-way permits  'conform to State and local plans to the maximum extent consistent with Federal law and the purposes of' the legislation. Id. (emphasis added). The members of the Joint Conference adopted the House requirement that BLM comply with, rather than merely consider, federal and state pollution standards. H.Conf.Rep.No. 1724, 94th Cong., 2d Sess., 58, reprinted in (1976) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 6175, 6229. This clearly indicates congressional intent to require federal agencies to meet the state's substantive standards for projects under FLPMA. 102 Our next inquiry is whether the BPA also must go through the certification process and get a certificate from the Governor. We hold that it does not. The statute refers to standards, it does not mention procedures. As in Hancock, there is no reference here to complying with all of the state's laws, or with all requirements of a permitting system. The Act only refers to standards. The statute never defines the term, nor does its legislative history, but the normal use of the term, and that used by the Supreme Court in Hancock and EPA, is substantive requirements. 103 Moreover, to require the BPA to receive a state certificate would imply that the state could deny the application, which would give them a veto power over the federal project. This clearly cannot be the meaning that Congress intended. Much stronger language would be needed for us to conclude that Congress was delegating so much power from the federal government to the states. Congress would not delegate such an important function as the decision of whether and where to distribute electric power from federal facilities to total state control in such a brief statement. 104 The Landowners cite California v. United States, 438 U.S. 645, 98 S.Ct. 2985, 57 L.Ed.2d 1018 (1978), as support for their position. We, however, find that case to be readily distinguishable, and, in fact, further support for our holding today. In California, the BR proposed to construct a dam project in the State of California as authorized by the Reclamation Act. 43 U.S.C. § 371 et seq. (1976). The Supreme Court held that the BR had to apply for a state water appropriation permit and was bound by the conditions placed therein by the state. This conclusion, however, was based on the very clear and specific language of § 8 of that act: 105 (N)othing in this Act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State, or Territory relating to the control, appropriation, use or distribution of water used in irrigation, ... and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws. 106 43 U.S.C. § 383 (1974) (emphasis added). 107 This language is clear. Congress referred to complying with all state laws, not merely standards. This is the very kind of language that the Supreme Court specifically said was missing in Hancock, 426 U.S. at 182, 96 S.Ct. at 2014, and in EPA, 426 U.S. at 212-13, 96 S.Ct. at 2028-29. Section 8 leaves no room for doubt, and the Court so held. California, 438 U.S. at 675, 98 S.Ct. at 3001. 108 Although we hold that the BPA need not get a certificate from the state, we do require it to submit the information relevant to the substantive standards to Washington's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. The BPA is not required to go through the entire certification process, but it does need to submit the information which Washington needs to determine whether the BPA has indeed met the state's substantive standards of its siting act. Specifically, this means that the BPA must disclose the information required in Chapter 463-42 WAC of the Washington Siting Act. For example, the BPA must submit a description of the proposed construction, WAC 463-42-210, and an indication of the federal, state and industry criteria used in the transmission route selection process, WAC 463-42-250. 109 The purpose of this requirement is to help Washington enforce its standards. It would be difficult for the state to get this information on its own, and the BPA has it readily available. We have thus shifted the burden of producing this data to the party on whom it is the lightest. This was not required in Hancock or EPA because in those cases the federal government had a permit system under the Environmental Protection Agency that would enforce the state's pollution standards. The federal government does not have an applicable permit and enforcement system for transmission facility sitings. Therefore, we require this of the BPA, as a way of helping to insure that the substantive standards of Washington's Siting Act are met. 110 Intervenor Franklin County (the County) contends that the BPA must comply with the County's comprehensive land use plan. The County argues that because it is required to make a comprehensive plan under a Washington act, RCW 36.70.320, the BPA must comply with the plan. We disagree. 111 Section 505 of FLPMA states that the BPA must comply with State standards. This is in contrast to the statutes in Hancock and EPA, which specifically said the federal installment had to comply with state, interstate, and local requirements. If Congress had meant to include local plans such as that of Franklin County, they could have easily worded the statute to reflect that intent. We therefore hold that the BPA is not required to comply with the terms of the Franklin County Comprehensive Plan. 112 F. Was the District Court Correct in Ruling that the BPA Must Obtain a FLPMA Right-of-Way Permit from the BR before Proceeding with the Power Line Project? 113 The district court held that when the BPA's power line crossed land administered by both the BLM and the BR, the BPA had to obtain a FLPMA right-of-way permit from both of these agencies. The government contends, on cross-appeal, that the district court incorrectly interpreted FLPMA to require the BPA to obtain a right-of-way permit from the BR. The government maintains that the FLPMA right-of-way provisions apply only to public lands administered by the BLM, and to lands within the National Forest System (national forest lands), lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture. 114 Section 507 is the section that authorizes the granting of rights-of-way to federal agencies. Section 507(a) provides: 115 The Secretary concerned may provide under applicable provisions of this subchapter (title V) for the use of any department or agency of the United States a right-of-way over, upon, under or through the land administered by him, subject to such terms and conditions as he may impose. 116 43 U.S.C. § 1767 (1976) (emphasis added). 117 The question before this Court is what lands does this section cover? Is it all lands administered by the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, or is it only public lands administered by the BLM and national forest lands administered by the Secretary of Agriculture? 118 The issue is created by the ambiguous way the statute is written. Section 507 says The Secretary concerned may grant rights-of-way as authorized by other provisions of Title V to government departments or agencies. The statute is not clear, however, on which Secretary or Secretaries are included in § 507. The applicable provision of Title V for authorization to grant rights-of-way for power lines is § 501(a), and that section explicitly refers to two different Secretaries and two different categories of land: 119 The Secretary (of the Interior), with respect to the public lands and, the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to lands within the National Forest System (except in each case land designated as wilderness), are authorized to grant, issue, or renew rights-of-way over, upon, under, or through such lands for ... (4) systems for generation, transmission, and distribution of electric energy .... 120 43 U.S.C. § 1761 (1976) (emphasis added). According to this section, rights-of-way can be granted only for public lands and national forest lands. The ambiguity arises because right-of-way is defined in § 103(f) to include only rights-of-way that transverse public lands. 43 U.S.C. § 1702(f) (1976) (emphasis added), there is no mention in this definition of national forest lands. Further, public lands is defined by § 103(e) as those lands that are administered by the BLM, again with no mention of national forest lands. 43 U.S.C. § 1702(e) (1976). Thus, the definitions and the provisions of Title V are inconsistent as to what lands are covered. In some sections it seems that only public lands are covered by the right-of-way provisions of FLPMA, and yet other sections include forest lands as well. 121 The district court resolved this ambiguity by interpreting § 507 to apply to all lands administered by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior. The court noted that the definition of right-of-way included only rights-of-way transversing public lands, but held that FLPMA should nonetheless apply to rights-of-way transversing all lands administered by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior. The court reasoned that because the Secretary of Agriculture, and the national forest lands under his jurisdiction, are not mentioned in the definition of rights-of-way and yet are included in § 501, the section that authorizes granting such rights-of-way, then the definitions are not all-inclusive and lands other than BLM public lands are encompassed by the Act. Therefore, the court concluded that FLPMA covers all of the lands under the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and thus that the BR is included within the purview of the Act. 122 It is true that the definitions in FLPMA are somewhat inconsistent with the provisions of Title V, and that the statute must be interpreted in a way that resolves this conflict. We find, however, that the district court resolved this conflict incorrectly, and that the proper interpretation of § 507 is that it applies only to public lands administered by the BLM and to national forest lands administered by the Department of Agriculture. It does not cover all of the lands administered by the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and therefore does not include the BR. 123 The major error in the district court's reasoning is that the district court did not give sufficient attention to the fact that the national forest lands were specifically discussed and included by Congress within certain provisions of FLPMA. The national forest lands do not appear in FLPMA merely as an example of one of the many types of lands under the jurisdiction of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior that FLPMA covers. 124 An examination of the legislative history of FLPMA clearly shows that this interpretation is correct. Throughout FLPMA's legislative history the Act was referred to as the organic act of the BLM. See, e. g., H.Conf.Rep.No. 1724, 94th Cong., 2d Sess., 57, reprinted in (1976) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News, 6175, 6228. The preeminent purpose of the Act was to (e)stablish a mission for the public lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management. H.R.Rep.No. 1163, 94th Cong., 2d Sess., 2, reprinted in (1976) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News, 6175, 6176. Thus, originally, the Act was only addressed to the BLM in an effort to simplify and unify the laws relating to the millions of acres of land administered by this agency. Later during the legislative process, amendments were introduced in the House that proposed including the national forest lands in some of FLPMA's provisions, most notably, the right-of-way provisions of Title V. A Senate bill provided that national forest lands be included only in the mining claims and patent provisions. The Joint Conference accepted the House amendments which made the rights-of-way provisions applicable to the national forest lands. H.Conf.Rep.No. 1724, 64, reprinted in (1976) Cong.Code & Ad.News, 6175, 6236. 125 The decision to include the national forest lands in certain provisions of FLPMA is clearly reflected in the Act. Many of the substantive provisions of FLPMA, including sections of Title V, are explicitly made applicable to national forest lands. The BR, by contrast, is never mentioned in either the Act or its legislative history. 126 Reading the Act as a whole leaves no question that FLPMA was expanded only to include these lands. The Act's major purpose is still to regulate BLM lands, with this one expansion for the Secretary of Agriculture and the national forest lands under his jurisdiction. It is not an Act made to change the powers of all of the agencies under the jurisdiction of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior. There is simply no indication from the Act or from its legislative history that it is meant to cover any agencies not specifically referred to therein. To read FLPMA as a vehicle for regulating all of the agencies under the Departments of Agriculture and Interior would unduly broaden the scope of this statute, and would cause this Court to step beyond its power of statutory interpretation. The ambiguity created by the substantive provisions and the definitions is a situation of unfortunate drafting, but the intent of Congress as to the coverage of the Act is clear nonetheless. 127 We thus find that the language of § 507, The Secretary concerned, is merely a shorthand way of referring to the Secretary of the Interior for public lands, and the Secretary of Agriculture for national forest lands. Therefore, we hold that the district court was incorrect in its holding that the BR is included under the purview of FLPMA, and that the BPA had to receive a FLPMA right-of-way permit from the BR. IV