Opinion ID: 501787
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The History of the Standing Issue in This Case

Text: 77 Standing has emerged as a prime issue in this appeal. Industry raised standing objections in the district court, but Judge Flannery initially made no fact findings on the subject. On appeal, however, Industry interposed a broad challenge to NWF's standing, reaching each of the 21 regulations contested by the environmental organizations. Specifically, Industry argued that NWF had failed to allege a constitutionally adequate injury with respect to each regulation. In the case of several regulations, Industry maintained that NWF had failed to demonstrate a sufficiently strong chain of causation between the challenged regulation and the alleged harm. 5 78 After oral argument, this court remanded the record to Judge Flannery to make additional fact findings on standing. We instructed the district court to receive affidavits demonstrating specific injury to members of the plaintiff environmental organizations. NWF thereupon filed with the district court 70 affidavits, amounting to over 1,600 pages. 79 On August 10, 1987, Judge Flannery issued a memorandum opinion concluding that NWF's affidavits had alleged sufficiently specific injuries with regard to each regulation challenged by NWF to satisfy Article III of the Constitution. See In re Permanent Surface Mining Regulation Litigation, No. 79-1144, mem. op. (D.D.C. Aug. 10, 1987) (hereinafter Findings on Standing). 80 In light of the vast expanse of issues before us in this appeal, we pause first to sort out which issues are, and are not, subject to standing challenges. NWF has not contested, nor could it seriously contest, the standing of Industry to challenge those regulations that Industry has assailed. Thus, as to issues on which Industry is pitted against the Secretary, no standing challenge is before this court. 81 Additionally, in the aftermath of Judge Flannery's memorandum opinion on standing, Industry concedes that NWF has standing to challenge three of the 21 regulations NWF has contested. These regulations involve: (1) the replacement of the water supply of property owners whose supply has been damaged by underground coal mining; (2) the measures coal operators must take to control fugitive dust; and (3) the requirement that regulatory authorities determine the probable cumulative impact of all anticipated mining prior to its inception. See Brief for Industry at 25, 27, 43 (conceding standing on these issues). 6 After studying NWF's affidavits and reviewing Judge Flannery's treatment, see Findings on Standing, at 16-17, 19-20, 33-34, with regard to these three issues, we conclude along with Judge Flannery that NWF has satisfied the standing requirements of Article III of the Constitution. We are thus left with challenges to NWF's standing to contest the 18 remaining surface-mining regulations.