Opinion ID: 787547
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Record on Review

Text: 19 The Association next argues that [j]udicial review of the legality of [the Park Service's] action to open the bays under NEPA and 36 C.F.R. § 1.5 was thwarted by the district court's decision to prohibit limited discovery to fill in these gaps.... The district court concluded that [t]he administrative record contains sufficient information about the basis for the agency decision ... and, as such, denied the Association's motion for discovery to supplement that record. This decision is entitled to deference absent a gross abuse of discretion. Tenkku v. Normandy, 348 F.3d 737, 743 (8th Cir. 2003). 20 It is well-established that judicial review under the APA is limited to the administrative record that was before the agency when it made its decision. Overton Park, 401 U.S. at 420, 91 S.Ct. 814; Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729, 743-44, 105 S.Ct. 1598, 84 L.Ed.2d 643 (1985); Newton County Wildlife Assoc. v. Rogers, 141 F.3d 803, 807 (8th Cir.1998) (APA review of agency action is normally confined to the agency's administrative record.). That record, not some new record made initially in the reviewing court, becomes the focal point for judicial review. Camp v. Pitts, 411 U.S. 138, 142, 93 S.Ct. 1241, 36 L.Ed.2d 106 (1973); Corning Savings & Loan Assoc. v. Fed. Home Loan Bank Bd., 736 F.2d 479, 480-81 (8th Cir.1984). By confining judicial review to the administrative record, the APA precludes the reviewing court from conducting a de novo trial and substituting its opinion for that of the agency. United States v. Morgan, 313 U.S. 409, 422, 61 S.Ct. 999, 85 L.Ed. 1429 (1941). 21 However, certain exceptions have been carved from the general rule limiting APA review to the administrative record. These exceptions apply only under extraordinary circumstances, and are not to be casually invoked unless the party seeking to depart from the record can make a strong showing that the specific extra-record material falls within one of the limited exceptions. Animal Defense Council v. Hodel, 840 F.2d 1432, 1436-38 (9th Cir. 1988). When there is a contemporaneous administrative record and no need for additional explanation of the agency decision, `there must be a strong showing of bad faith or improper behavior' before the reviewing court may permit discovery and evidentiary supplementation of the administrative record. Newton, 141 F.3d at 807-808 (quoting Overton Park, 401 U.S. at 420, 91 S.Ct. 814). 22 The Association's argument hinges on its assertion that the administrative record is incomplete and thus will frustrate effective judicial review. However, the exception allowing extra-record evidence to explain the administrative record and agency decision is very narrow. Inquiry into the mental processes of administrative decisionmakers is to be avoided unless it is the only way there can be effective judicial review. Overton Park, 401 U.S. at 420, 91 S.Ct. 814; Camp, 411 U.S. at 142-43, 93 S.Ct. 1241. 23 The Association's claims notwithstanding, the administrative record in this case-which consists of over ten-thousand pages of reports, correspondence, studies and analyses-is fully sufficient to facilitate judicial review without discovery. We are satisfied that the district court's denial of extra-record discovery was not an abuse of discretion, and the decision is therefore affirmed.