Opinion ID: 576710
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: All Things Considered

Text: 92 Our analysis of the language, structure, policy, and history of the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act leads us to conclude that, despite its inartful wording, that statute deems the requirements of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act satisfied as to the entire first phase of construction of the astrophysical complex. 28 Viewed as a whole, the statute clearly differentiates between its treatment of the first three telescopes and the next four telescopes. Construction of the first three is plainly exempted from other important environmental requirements, specifically the National Environmental Policy Act. Although the statute does not waive the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act for the entire first phase of the project as clearly as it waives the provisions of NEPA, the legislators who spoke on the floor of the Senate and House in support of the legislation made no distinction between the two waivers and uniformly represented to their colleagues prior to the vote not just that the special authorization would be issued or that the Secretary's approval would be granted, but that construction would occur immediately. Because anything short of such a provision would not have provided the necessary assurance that further environmental delay would not bring the project to a halt, the conclusion that Congress intended to waive the section 7 provisions regarding the first three telescopes fully seems more consistent with the statutory objectives than the alternatives suggested by the opponents of the project. The fact that Congress made authorization of the final four telescopes contingent on an evaluation of the impact on the red squirrel of construction of the first three telescopes also indicates that the legislators sought to achieve a workable and practical compromise between the needs of the scientific community on the one hand and the legitimate concerns of the environmentalists on the other. 93 Our conclusion is strengthened by the fact that were we to interpret the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act otherwise, and hold that the section 7 waiver applied only through the Secretary's authorization phase but not afterwards, the result would be to give the statute little practical significance. Congress knew at the time of passage that, under the Fish and Wildlife Service regulations, 29 the factual basis for reconsultation would come into existence almost immediately after the Secretary issued an authorization for construction of the first three telescopes. As one example of that fact, section 4 of the Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate critical habitat of an endangered species no later than two years after the publication of a notice proposing to list the species as endangered. 16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(b)(6)(A)(ii), (b)(6)(C) (1988). At the time the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act was passed, the notice proposing to list the red squirrel as endangered had already been issued, as had the Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed boundaries for the red squirrel's critical habitat (in an area including Emerald Peak), but critical habitat had not yet been formally designated. Thus, Congress should have been aware that designation of the area involved was imminent. In this connection, Congress also knew that the Fish and Wildlife Service regulations require the reinitiation of formal consultation whenever critical habitat is designated subsequent to the issuance of a Biological Opinion. 50 C.F.R. § 402.16(d). Because the Biological Opinion had already been issued, Congress should have anticipated that as soon as the Fish and Wildlife Service made its formal designation of critical habitat, the regulations would require the reinitiation of formal consultation. Were the statute to be construed as incorporating the section 7 reconsultation requirement, then Congress would have done very little to overcome the basic problem that it had been asked to solve--that is, to ensure that the environmental obstacles to constructing an astrophysical complex on Mount Graham could be surmounted in a timely manner, without the type of delay that might scuttle the entire project. 30 94 Before reaching a final conclusion, there is one further possibility we should explore. It could be argued that Congress took a practical approach to the issue of waiver--that it intended to waive the reconsultation requirements as to matters that it was aware of at the time of enactment, but that it did not intend to foreclose consideration of new or unanticipated developments. Under this theory, the designation of critical habitat would not trigger the need to reinitiate consultation because Congress was aware when it passed the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act that critical habitat designation was imminent. Similarly, neither the congressional modifications to Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Three nor even, possibly, the drop in the population of red squirrels would trigger the need for reconsultation, because Congress knew of the existence of the first at the time it enacted the statute and certainly was aware of the possibility of the second. However, completely new or unanticipated developments, such as the occurrence of a major forest fire on Emerald Peak, might require the halting of construction pending reconsultation and the issuance of a new Biological Opinion. The problem with this approach is that nothing in the language of section 602 (or in the legislative history) suggests that Congress intended to provide for reconsultation in the case of some of the circumstances set forth in the Fish and Wildlife Service regulations but not in the case of others, nor that Congress intended to carve out exceptions to the immediate construction requirement in the case of emergencies or unanticipated developments. Congress could, of course, have made either of these choices. But the statutory language shows plainly that it followed a different course, 31 one we are not free to change. There is no ambiguity on this point. Moreover, even were it possible for us to rewrite the statute, it would be extremely difficult to determine what Congress knew at the time of enactment and what constituted a new, unforeseen, or unanticipated development. Environmental issues of this type are rarely black or white, usually complex, frequently difficult to delineate, and often troubling to resolve. The law is confusing enough in this area without our creating additional and unnecessary complications. Reading a new or unanticipated exception into the statute would undoubtedly lead to more protracted litigation and the strong possibility of further procedural delays. Accordingly, we decline to interpret the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act in a way that creates a new ambiguity when a clearer, more precise interpretation exists which is, at the very least, as consistent with the purposes and objectives underlying the Act. See Commissioner v. Brown, 380 U.S. 563, 571, 85 S.Ct. 1162, 1166, 14 L.Ed.2d 75 (1965). 95 Our conclusion that the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act deems the requirements of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act satisfied with respect to construction of the first three telescopes renders irrelevant Sierra Club's assertions that a factual basis now exists to invoke reconsultation pursuant to section 7. The district court properly granted summary judgment on Sierra Club's section 7 reconsultation claims, and we affirm that part of its decision.