Opinion ID: 6971731
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Prudential Dimension

Text: The plaintiffs bring suit under § 10(a) of the APA, which entitles persons aggrieved by final agency action to seek judicial review. See 5 U.S.C. § 702. Article VII § 172(b) of the Compact of Free Association specifically provides: (b) The Governments of ... the Federated States of Micronesia and every citizen of ... the Federated States of Micronesia shall be considered a “person” within the meaning of ... the judicial review provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706.... The Supreme Court has interpreted that statute to impose a prudential standing requirement in addition to the requirements] imposed by Article III---- For a plaintiff to have prudential standing under the APA, “the interest sought to be protected by the complaintant [must be] arguably within the zone of interests to be protected or regulated by the statute ... in question.” National Credit Union Admin. v. First Nat’l Bank & Trust Co., — U.S. -, -, 118 S.Ct. 927, 933, 140 L.Ed.2d 1 (1998) (quoting Association of Data Processing Serv. Org. v. Camp, 397 U.S. 150, 152-53, 90 S.Ct. 827, 25 L.Ed.2d 184 (1970) (brackets and ellipsis in original)). The district court held that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy this prudential requirement because the “mechanism” that the Stafford Act employs to disburse funds is “by granting funds to the States, and not to individuals directly.” Thus, the district court concluded, “it appears that the [individual and family grant] program was really designed to help States, rather than individuals, in dealing with major disasters within their borders.” We disagree with this highly formalistic reasoning. The plaintiffs in this ease — the victims of a natural disaster — most certainly fall within the Stafford Disaster Relief Act’s zone of interests. The Supreme Court has explained the zone-of-interests inquiry as follows: The “zone of interest” test is a guide for deciding whether, in view of Congress’ evident intent to make agency action presumptively reviewable, a particular plaintiff should be heard to complain of a particular agency decision. In cases where the plaintiff is not itself the subject the of contested regulatory action, the test denies a right of review if the plaintiff’s interests are so marginally related to or inconsistent with the purposes implicit in the statute that it cannot reasonably be assumed that Congress intended to permit the suit. The test is not meant to be especially demanding; in particular, there need be no indication of congressional purpose to benefit the would-be plaintiff. Clarke v. Securities Indus. Ass’n, 479 U.S. 388, 399-400, 107 S.Ct. 750, 93 L.Ed.2d 757 (1987); see also United States v. Mindel, 80 F.3d 394, 397 (9th Cir.1996). The Court, in fact, recently clarified this rule, holding that APA plaintiffs need only show that their interests fall within the “general policy” of the underlying statute, such that interpretations of the statute’s provisions or scope could directly affect them. National Credit Union Admin., — U.S. at -, 118 S.Ct. at 933 (quoting Data Processing, 397 U.S. at 157, 90 S.Ct. 827). The plaintiffs’ interests in this ease are in no way “marginally related to or inconsistent with the purposes implicit in the statute.” Clarke, 479 U.S. at 399, 107 S.Ct. 750. To the contrary, the Stafford Act expressly authorizes FEMA “to make a grant to a State for the purpose of making grants to individuals or families adversely affected by a major disaster.” 42 U.S.C. § 5178(a) (emphasis added). The regulations state that “[t]he [individual and family] grant program is intended to provide funds to individuals or families to permit them to meet those disaster-related expenses or serious needs for which assistance from other means is either unavailable or inadequate.” 44 C.F.R. § 206.131(b). It is therefore clear that the Stafford Act was primarily designed to help individuals, not states, obtain disaster relief. Even if states that receive disaster assistance are also within the Act’s zone of interests, the Act’s real beneficiaries, the individuals and families who suffer losses due to natural disasters, fall well within the Act’s general poliey concerns. 7