Opinion ID: 775204
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Total Maximum Daily Loads.

Text: 14 The CWA requires states to identify waters that cannot meet their water quality standards even after implementation of the effluent limitations required by 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(b)(1)(A), (B). See 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d)(1)(A). For such waters, [e]ach State shall establish... the total maximum daily load, for those pollutants. Id. at § 1313(d)(1)(C). Such load shall be established at a level necessary to implement the applicable water quality standards with seasonal variations and a margin of safety which takes into account any lack of knowledge concerning the relationship between effluent limitations and water quality. Id. Further, each state must estimate 15 the total maximum daily thermal load required to assure protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish and wildlife. Such estimates shall take into account the normal water temperatures, flow rates, seasonal variations, existing sources of heat input, and the dissipative capacity of the identified waters or parts thereof. Such estimates shall include a calculation of the maximum heat input that can be made into each such part and shall include a margin of safety which takes into account any lack of knowledge concerning the development of thermal water quality criteria for such protection and propagation in the identified waters or parts thereof. 16 Id. at § 1313(d)(1)(D). EPA's implementing regulations note that TMDLs can be expressed in terms of either mass per time, toxicity, or other appropriate measure. 40 C.F.R. § 130.2(i). 17 NRDC claims the TDMLs approved by EPA are in violation of the CWA because they are presented in terms of annual maximum loads of phosphorus, not daily loads. NRDC argues that an annual expression of TMDLs violates the clear language of the statute, so the matter boils down to one of simple statutory interpretation. EPA, in turn, argues that the statute is silent with regard to how TMDLs should be expressed and that its own regulations make clear that any general expression in terms of units of mass over a period of time is acceptable. The district court agreed with EPA, stating: Congress, in one sentence, directs EPA to approve TMDLs for hundreds of different pollutants in thousands of different waterbodies, and it is excessively formalistic to suggest that EPA may not express these standards in different ways, as appropriate to each unique circumstance. Fox, 93 F. Supp. 2d at 555. 18 Statutory analysis begins with the plain meaning of a statute. See United States v. Dauray, 215 F.3d 257, 260 (2d Cir. 2000). The plain meaning can be extrapolated by giving words their ordinary sense. See id. If the plain meaning of a statute is susceptible to two or more reasonable meanings, i.e., if it is ambiguous, then a court may resort to the canons of statutory construction. See id. at 262. Although the canons of statutory interpretation provide a court with numerous avenues for supplementing and narrowing the possible meaning of ambiguous text, most helpful to our interpretation of the CWA in this case are two rules. First, when determining which reasonable meaning should prevail, the text should be placed in the context of the entire statutory structure. See id. ([A] statute is to be considered in all its parts when construing any one of them.) (internal quotations omitted) (alteration in original). Second, absurd results are to be avoided and internal inconsistencies in the statute must be dealt with. United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 580 (1981); see also Dauray, 215 F.3d at 264 (A statute should be interpreted in a way that avoids absurd results.). Finally, if the canons of statutory interpretation and resort to other interpretive aids (like legislative history) do not resolve the issue, we will give deference to the view of the agency tasked with administering the statute, particularly insofar as those views are expressed in rules and regulations that implement the statute. [C]onsiderable weight should be accorded to an executive department's construction of a statutory scheme it is entrusted to administer. United States v. Mead Corp., 121 S. Ct. 2164, 2171 (2001) (internal quotations omitted); see also EPA v. Nat'l Crushed Stone Ass'n, 449 U.S. 64, 83 (1980) (It is by now a commonplace that when faced with a problem of statutory construction, this Court shows great deference to the interpretation given the statute by the officers or agency charged with its administration.) (internal quotations omitted). 19 If the language of the statute is as plain as NRDC urges, NRDC's reading of the statute easily prevails. The CWA calls for establishment of a total maximum daily load, not an hourly, weekly, monthly, or annual load. We believe, however, that the term total maximum daily load is susceptible to a broader range of meanings. Indeed, NRDC's overly narrow reading of the statute loses sight of the overall structure and purpose of the CWA. The CWA contemplates the establishment of TMDLs for an open-ended range of pollutants that are susceptible to effective regulation by such means. See 33 U.S.C. § 1313(d)(1)(c) (noting that states must establish TMDLs for all pollutants which the Administrator identifies... as suitable for such calculation). In the case of each pollutant, effective regulation requires agencies to determine how the pollutant enters, interacts with, and, at a certain level or under certain conditions, adversely impacts an affected waterbody. In the case of highly toxic pollutants that may work harmful effects upon a waterbody almost immediately when present at small levels, close regulation at a daily level may be most appropriate. In the case of other pollutants, like phosphorus, the amounts waterbodies can tolerate vary depending upon the waterbody and the season of the year, while the harmful consequences of excessive amounts may not occur immediately. In short, the CWA's effective enforcement requires agency analysis and application of information concerning a broad range of pollutants. We are not prepared to say Congress intended that such far-ranging agency expertise be narrowly confined in application to regulation of pollutant loads on a strictly daily basis. Such a reading strikes us as absurd, especially given that for some pollutants, effective regulation may best occur by some other periodic measure than a diurnal one. Accordingly, we agree with EPA that a total maximum daily load may be expressed by another measure of mass per time, where such an alternative measure best serves the purpose of effective regulation of pollutant levels in waterbodies. 20 Nevertheless, as with any agency action falling within the bounds of the APA, EPA's discretion in determining what period of time will govern the measurement of each pollutant's mass in a waterbody is subject to judicial review. EPA must examine[ ] the relevant data and establish[ ] a rational connection between the facts found and the choice made. Cellular Phone Taskforce v. FCC, 205 F.3d 82, 89 (2d Cir. 2000) (internal quotations omitted), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1070 (2001). EPA argues that a daily measure of phosphorus would be inappropriate given that phosphorus concentrations vary seasonally and annually. The record supports this view, indicating that phosphorus concentrations in waterbodies are affected by the seasonal interplay of temperatures, density, and wind, resulting in the frequent occurrence of very large short-term yearly variations which characterize the gradually increasing concentration. While the record makes clear why EPA or a State might opt not to measure loads on a daily basis, it remains unclear why an annual measurement of loads would therefore be more appropriate since phosphorus concentrations vary within a waterbody on a seasonal basis. 21 We recognize that the question of whether the annual loads set by New York and approved by EPA account for seasonal variation was litigated below, resolved in favor of EPA, and not raised by NRDC on appeal. See Fox, 93 F. Supp. 2d at 555-56. But the question before the district court was whether the TMDLs accounted for seasonal variations, as the CWA requires. The district court found the annual loads accounted for seasonal variations because the record shows the loads were calculated based upon phosphorus levels during the growing season, when conditions are optimal for algal growth. See id. at 556. The question before us is not whether the maximum load was calculated to account for seasonal variations but, rather, whether the annual period over which the load is measured is appropriate for tracking and monitoring something that fluctuates on a seasonal basis. The record shows that the flow or the amount of phosphorus contributed to a waterbody by each source will vary widely in response to season, storm events, and other random factors. Given this and the fact that phosphorus contributed to a waterbody during one season can impact algal growth during other seasons (when, due to seasonal factors, biological activity increases), seasonal regulation of phosphorus flows may be more appropriate. Of course, we do not suggest how best to regulate phosphorus. Instead, we remand for EPA to justify how the annual period of measurement takes seasonal variations into account. 22