Opinion ID: 411109
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: deference to epa

Text: 28 Because we agree with the district court that neither the language of the Act nor its legislative history conclusively supports either side's interpretation of Sec. 402, we make a threshold inquiry into how much deference to give to EPA's construction. In our view, the district court erred in failing to give enough deference to EPA's construction of the Act. First, as a general rule, courts must give  'great deference to the interpretation given the statute by the officers or agency charged with its administration.'  EPA v. National Crushed Stone Association, 449 U.S. 64, 83, 101 S.Ct. 295, 307, 66 L.Ed.2d 268 (1980) (footnote omitted) (quoting Udall v. Tallman, 380 U.S. 1, 16, 85 S.Ct. 792, 801, 13 L.Ed.2d 616 (1965)). 29 Here, EPA certainly has responsibility for administering the Act. Indeed, since deference is ultimately 'a function of Congress' intent,'  Process Gas Consumers Group v. United States Department of Agriculture, 694 F.2d 778, 791 (D.C.Cir.1982) (en banc) (quoting Constance v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 672 F.2d 990, 995 (1st Cir. 1982)), we find it noteworthy that Congress expressly meant EPA to have not only substantial discretion in administering the Act generally, but also at least some power to define the specific terms point source and pollutant. 30 29 Several other factors point to increased deference due to EPA's interpretation. EPA's construction was made contemporaneously with the passage of the Act, and has been consistently adhered to since. 31 Also, construction of the Act is likely to require scientific and technical expertise. 32 Moreover, during a major revision of the Act in 1977, Congress did not object to EPA's characterization of dams as nonpoint sources, although we give only modest weight to this factor since it is not clear that Congress was aware of EPA's interpretation. 33 30 The Wildlife Federation presents several arguments for reduced deference to EPA, none of which we find persuasive. First, it claims that EPA's narrow definitions of addition and pollutant in the context of dam-caused pollution are inconsistent with its pursuit in other contexts of broad definitions of point source and pollutant. 34 The district court agreed. 530 F.Supp. at 1304, 1311. We, however, find no inconsistency in EPA's taking a broad view of its statutory mandate in some situations and a narrower view here, even though the same statutory terms are involved. The factual contexts in which EPA has broadly construed the scope of the Sec. 402 permit program are too disparate from this one to permit facile comparison. And EPA has never advocated the unlimited definition of pollutant urged by the Wildlife Federation, nor the Federation's liberal view of what constitutes an addition from a point source. 31 Second, the Wildlife Federation argues that EPA has been inconsistent in switching its position on appeal as to the relevance of Sec. 304(f)(2)(F), 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1314(f)(2)(F), which directs EPA to issue information on methods for controlling nonpoint pollution due to changes in the movement, flow, or circulation of any navigable waters or ground waters, including changes caused by the construction of dams, levees, channels, causeways, or flow diversion facilities. In the district court, EPA claimed that this section was totally irrelevant. 35 In this court, it argues that Sec. 304(f)(2)(F) demonstrates congressional intent that some dam-caused water quality changes should be treated as nonpoint source pollution. However, even if counsel for EPA has rethought its legal argument, 36 EPA has never changed its basic position that dams generally do not require NPDES permits. Thus, any inconsistency in EPA's statutory argument would at most be cause not to defer to the agency on the narrow question of the relevance of Sec. 304(f)(2)(F), not reason to withdraw deference to EPA on its underlying position concerning dams. 32 Third, the Wildlife Federation argues that EPA has never thoroughly considered whether dams require NPDES permits. 37 We agree that the thoroughness ... of an agency's reasoning bears on the proper degree of deference, Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 454 U.S. 27, 37, 102 S.Ct. 38, 44, 70 L.Ed.2d 23 (1981), but we can find nothing in the record to show that EPA's decision-making process has been inadequate in this instance. At the time of its initial decision to treat dams as nonpoint sources of pollution, EPA was well aware of the water quality problems caused by dams. 38 To be sure, the 1973 letter explaining EPA's decision contains little legal or policy analysis. 39 But EPA was under no legal obligation at that point to fully explain its reasoning; thus, we are not at liberty to conclude that its position, although incompletely explained, was not in fact carefully considered. More important, EPA in 1974 and 1978 considered at length whether to require NPDES permits for dams and adhered to its original position both times. 40 This reconsideration is sufficient evidence of thoroughness to meet the standard for deference. 33 The usual factors, then (regulatory agency, consistency, contemporaneous construction, expertise, congressional acquiescence, thoroughness), generally support giving great deference to EPA's interpretation. The district court, however, justified reduced deference by its perception that the issue presented in this particular case did not involve scientific expertise and that EPA was relying in its interpretation of the Act not on policy considerations but on narrow dissection of the language of the Act, a task at which courts are equally skilled. 34 Of course, in any particular case, we must look closely at how the general reasons for deference relate to the specific problem of statutory construction at hand. Wilderness Society v. Morton, 156 U.S.D.C.App. 121, 479 F.2d 842, 866 (en banc), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 917, 93 S.Ct. 1550, 36 L.Ed.2d 309 (1973). Thus, EPA's failure to base its position on scientific or policy considerations, if true, would be cause for reduced deference. As we recently noted in denying deference to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: 35 The underlying logic for deference ... largely depends on ... [whether] the agency['s] ... interpretation may fairly be characterized as being infused with the agency's expertise. In this case, the Commission concedes that its reading of the [Natural Gas Policy Act] is not informed by notions of ... policy. Instead, the Commission simply asserts that ... its hands are tied, no matter how disastrous the implications of its interpretation. 36 Process Gas Consumers Group v. United States Department of Agriculture, 694 F.2d 778, 792 (D.C.Cir.1982) (en banc) (emphasis in original) (footnote omitted). 41 Also, deference is not a unitary concept, to be applied with equal force to all issues in a case. If some issues involve scientific expertise and others do not, the agency will receive greater deference on the issues that do. In short, we must recognize that the standard for deference to an agency's interpretation of its governing statute defies generalized application and demands, instead, close attention to the nature of the particular problem faced by the agency. 42 37 In this case, it is easy to see why the district court concluded that the agency's determination was policy-free. The agency advanced no policy arguments and resisted the Wildlife Federation's attempts to introduce into evidence documents concerning the 1974 and 1978 reconsiderations. 43 Nonetheless, those documents are legitimately part of the record before us, and we cannot ignore their import. They show that EPA's internal reconsiderations did give primary emphasis to the policy implications of the point source-nonpoint source choice; the agency believed that the statute gave it sufficient leeway to change its mind on treating dams as nonpoint sources if policy considerations dictated such a choice. 44 Thus, while we lament EPA's misguided litigating tactics, we must conclude that its interpretation does in fact merit full deference on the basis of agency expertise. 38