Opinion ID: 1230068
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Justice Kennedy's Jurisdictional Test Is Met in this Case Because the Wetland Is Adjacent to Lake of the Woods

Text: Justice Kennedy's opinion holds that when a wetland is adjacent to the navigable-in-fact waters, then a significant nexus exists as a matter of law. [3] Rapanos, 547 U.S. at 780, 126 S.Ct. 2208 (As applied to wetlands adjacent to navigable-in-fact waters, the Corps' conclusive standard for jurisdiction rests upon a reasonable inference of ecological interconnection, and the assertion of jurisdiction for those wetlands is sustainable under the Act by showing adjacency alone.); see also N. Cal. River Watch, 496 F.3d at 1000 (noting that Justice Kennedy reaffirmed that wetlands adjacent to navigable waterways are covered by the Act). If the wetland is adjacent to non-navigable tributaries of navigable-in-fact waters, then the Corps must show that the wetland significantly affect[s] the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the navigable-in-fact waters. Rapanos, 547 U.S. at 780, 126 S.Ct. 2208. Justice Kennedy found the Corps' definition of adjacent to be reasonable when applied to wetland adjacent to navigable-in-fact waters, 547 U.S. at 774, 126 S.Ct. 2208, and the Corps defines adjacent to mean bordering, contiguous, or neighboring. 33 C.F.R. § 328.3(c). The district court determined that the road was built on wetland adjacent to the Lake, which is undisputably a navigable-in-fact water, holding that the Corps has presented evidence that the wetland on the Site extends to the edge of the Lake and is thus `bordering' on or `contiguous' to the Lake. Bailey, 516 F.Supp.2d at 1007. Bailey argues that the Corps has failed to meet its burden on summary judgment to show that the wetland at issue is adjacent to the Lake. Specifically, Bailey argues that the Corps has not shown that the fifteen-foot corridor closest to the Lake has wetland hydrology because it did not sample the soil saturation. Without wetland hydrology, the corridor cannot be deemed a wetland. Bailey also contends that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the 100-foot corridor closest to the Lake is wetland because Gary Lockner, the County's environmental services director, testified in a related proceeding that it is not. We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment, affirming if there exist no genuine disputes of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In re Operation of Mo. River Sys. Litig., 421 F.3d 618, 628 (8th Cir.2005); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). To determine whether these corridors constitute wetlands, we review the definition of wetlands and explain the Corps' evaluation of the site. The Corps defines wetlands as those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. 33 C.F.R. § 328.3(b). The Corps conducts wetland delineations to determine the presence and extent of wetland, using the criteria set forth in the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual (1987 Manual) and Corps' guidance interpreting the 1987 Manual. In general, the 1987 Manual defines land as wetland when, under normal conditions: (1) the land is dominated by hydrophytic vegetation (plants that have the ability to grow, effectively compete, reproduce and/or persist in anaerobic soil conditions caused by inundated or saturated soil conditions); (2) the land has wetland hydrology (inundated or saturated to the surface for at least five percent of the growing season in most years); and (3) the land consists of hydric soils (soils formed under conditions of saturation, flooding, or ponding long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part of the soil). The Corps uses defined field indicators to determine whether the land is wetland by investigating the plants, water, and soil. To determine whether an area is dominated by hydrophytic vegetation, the Corps establishes at least one sample point within each plant community and surveys the herbaceous vegetation within a five-foot radius and the woody vegetation within a thirty-foot radius. The Corps consults a list of plant species published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services, which assigns an indicator status to individual plant species reflecting their probability of occurrence in wetlands. Hydrophytic vegetation is present if greater than fifty percent of the dominant plant species are obligate wetland plants, facultative wetland plants, or facultative plants (excluding facultative negative). [4] To determine whether the land has wetland hydrology, the Corps requires either one primary indicator, such as direct observation of soil saturation within twelve inches of the surface, or two secondary indicators, such as the FAC-neutral test and local soil survey data. The FAC-neutral test uses vegetation as a secondary indicator of hydrology. If obligate wetland plants and facultative wetland plants outnumber facultative upland plants and obligate upland plants, then the sample meets the FAC-neutral test and tests positive as a secondary indicator of hydrology. The rationale is that obligate wetland plants and facultative wetland plants occur in wetlands 67 to 99 percent of the time. Facultative plants, which occur in both wetlands and nonwetlands, are considered neutral. An interdisciplinary team consisting of Steve Eggers, a senior ecologist with the Corps; Rod Heschke, a soil scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture; and Kelly Urbanek, a senior project manager and biologist with the Corps, conducted field investigations to delineate the wetland at the site. Consistent with the 1987 Manual, they established at least one sample point where a change in soils, hydrology, vegetation, or topography occurred, which resulted in a survey of forty-six sample points along established transects. They sampled vegetation, saturation levels, and soil types, concluding that the wetland encompassed the entire site except for approximately 1.31 acres. According to the expert report prepared by Eggers and Heschke, there is no upland border along the site's shoreline. Thirteen of the forty-six sample points were within 15 to 101 feet of the cut bank of the shoreline. All thirteen of these sample points were dominated by hydrophytes and had hydric soils. Eleven of the thirteen had saturated soils within twelve inches of the surface, a primary indicator of wetland hydrology. The twelfth met two secondary indicators of wetland hydrology, the FAC-neutral test and the local soil survey data. The thirteenth sample point lacked sufficient indicators of wetland hydrology. Eggers and Heschke concluded that the area surrounding the thirteenth point is drained by a preexisting ditch and does not constitute a wetland. Although the Corps did not sample the soil saturation, a primary indicator of wetland hydrology, within the fifteen-foot corridor of land closest to the Lake, two secondary indicatorsthe FAC-neutral test and local soil survey datawere met. Eggers found that the FAC-neutral test was met in the fifteen-foot corridor based on his observation of the vegetation closest to the lakeshore. Eggers established three sample points at the fifteen-foot mark, and he surveyed the herbaceous vegetation within the five-foot radius of the sample points and the saplings and shrubs within the thirty-foot radius. Eggers observed no changes in vegetation between the Lake and the sample points at the fifteen-foot mark that would have necessitated further sampling and determined that the land closest to the Lake tests positive under the FAC-neutral test. The other secondary indicator was local soil survey data, which Heschke reviewed. Heschke concluded that the soils within fifteen feet of the Lake are hydric based on his observations of the site, the National Cooperative Soil Survey, and the prevalence of the hydric soils in the surrounding area. The Corps thus presented sufficient evidence to allow a factfinder to conclude that the fifteen-foot corridor closest to the Lake's shoreline consisted of wetland hydrology. Bailey failed to rebut the Corps' evidence; he offered no expert evidence of the hydrological characteristics of the site, let alone the fifteen-foot corridor closest to the Lake. In his briefs and at oral argument, Bailey explained that the wetland at the site is a bowl shape, with the highest point being along the Lake. Bailey also argues that the drop between the Lake and the shore causes the water table to be drawn down, creating upland. Accordingly, his argument goes, the fifteen-foot strip of land is not wetland. Without competent evidence to contradict the government's expert evidence that the corridor constitutes wetland, however, we cannot make that leap. Bailey also contends that the 100-foot corridor closest to the Lake is not wetland, but he has again failed to submit evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. As he did before the district court, Bailey relies heavily on the testimony from Gary Lockner, the County's environmental services director, who opined in a state proceeding that the 100-foot corridor was upland and lacked wetland hydrology. Bailey brushed aside the district court's ruling that the testimony was inadmissible hearsay, arguing that in a motion for summary judgment all evidence can arguably be found to be hearsay. It was Bailey's responsibility to come forward with admissible evidence to survive summary judgment, yet Bailey has failed to overcome the barriers of the hearsay rule. See Plamp v. Mitchell Sch. Dist. No. 17-2, 565 F.3d 450, 460 (8th Cir.2009) (Plamp fails to overcome the hearsay rule, and, thus, the evidence cannot defeat summary judgment.); Sallis v. Univ. of Minn., 408 F.3d 470, 474 (8th Cir.2005) (The nonmoving party must show by admissible evidence that specific facts remain which create a genuine issue for trial.). Lockner's inadmissible testimony cannot be used to defeat summary judgment. Even if we were to accept the testimony, Lockner's opinion remains unsupported and unreliable, for it was based on his assumption that the Lake had a drainage effect on the site. Lockner was not identified as an expert in this case, nor did he conduct a wetland delineation of the site. Instead, he apparently relied on the van Shilfgaarde equation to conclude that the 100-foot corridor lacked wetland hydrology. [5] Bailey has presented no evidence that it is appropriate to use the van Shilfgaarde equation to estimate the drainage effect of a natural lake, and Eggers testified that he thought it would be inappropriate to do so. Eggers had used the equation to estimate the drainage effect of the man-made ditch on the site, and he had never heard of its being used to determine the drainage effect of a lake. We cannot assume, as Bailey has asked us to do, that the Lake has a drainage effect similar to a ditch. The Corps has submitted competent and extensive evidence in this case to show that the site is situated in a wetland adjacent to navigable-in-fact waters, whereas Bailey has failed to present contrary evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact that the land closest to the Lake is not wetland.