Opinion ID: 597144
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appellants' Request for Injunctive Relief

Text: 24 Plaintiffs argue that, even if there is no private damage remedy under § 803(c), the district court would still have jurisdiction to issue an injunction under § 825p. Although § 825p might be read to support this distinction, we reject the contention and hold, as did the district court, that injunctive relief is not available because of the exhaustion requirement. 25 Failure to exhaust administrative remedies permits a court to dismiss the action because no subject matter jurisdiction exists. See 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1350, at 194-96 (2d ed. 1990 & Supp.1992) and the cases cited therein. This is especially true where Congress has designed an extensive administrative procedure to protect the interests of potential plaintiffs. 26 The FPA endowed FERC with full regulatory authority over projects such as the Niagara Project, entrusting a broad subject-matter to administration by the [FERC], subject to Congressional oversight, in the light of new and evolving problems and doctrines. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. Federal Power Comm'n, 379 F.2d 153, 158 (D.C.Cir.1967). This authority includes the right to issue licenses for the construction and operation of hydroelectric projects. See 16 U.S.C. § 797(e). In this case, PASNY is licensed by FERC and must obey FERC's rules and regulations prescribed for the protection of life, health, and property. See id. § 803(c). 27 Dissatisfied with PASNY's ice control procedures, appellants have filed a complaint in the district court, seeking an injunction to compel PASNY to follow the procedures outlined in the Niagara River Ice Control Manual. The threshold issue is whether the district court has jurisdiction over this action. 28 In enacting the FPA, Congress established a system for dealing with complaints to FERC, see 16 U.S.C. §§ 825e-h, and created a special procedure to review FERC's action or inaction. Under this procedure, the complainant must first appeal the FERC action to the full commission, 18 C.F.R. § 385.904 (1992), and then request a rehearing, id. § 385.713. Only then, after exhausting all administrative remedies, may the complainant seek judicial review. 16 U.S.C. § 825l; see City of Tacoma v. Taxpayers of Tacoma, 357 U.S. 320, 336, 78 S.Ct. 1209, 1218, 2 L.Ed.2d 1345 (1958) (Congress in [§ 825l ] prescribed the specific, complete and exclusive mode for judicial review of [FERC's] orders.) 29 Appellants contend that they are free from these administrative constraints because they are not seeking to review anything but only to compel PASNY to adhere to its own procedures. While this argument has a certain semantic appeal, we reject it as simply too facile. 30 In California Save Our Streams Council, Inc. v. Yeutter, 887 F.2d 908 (9th Cir.1989), the Ninth Circuit rejected a similarly strained theory, concluding that appellants seek, through careful pleading, to avoid the strict jurisdictional limits imposed by Congress.... and we do not believe that the jurisdictional remedy prescribed by Congress hangs on the ingenuity of the complaint. Id. at 911-12. Likewise, appellants in this case attempt to fashion an independent claim against PASNY, seeking to escape FERC's jurisdiction over its licensees and its administrative proceedings. 31 We agree with the district court that FERC in the first instance has the power and the expertise to decide if the license was violated or if the current operating procedures should be changed. DiLaura II, 786 F.Supp. at 253. Accordingly, we find no error in the district court's conclusion that it lacked jurisdiction to review appellants' claims because they failed to exhaust FERC's administrative remedies. 5