Opinion ID: 608109
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Michigan's Lawsuit

Text: 11 In 1982, in an effort to comply with the 1980 Policy Act, Michigan entered into a Midwest Compact with Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Wisconsin. In 1987, the compact selected Michigan as the region's disposal facility site. Michigan began to take measures so that it could meet its obligations under the compact. Although the compact met two milestones required under the 1985 Policy Act, the compact did not meet the third milestone, which required the compact to submit, by a certain date, a completed application for a Part 61 disposal facility license. Because Michigan was not prepared to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, each compact member had to certify that it was capable of providing for disposal of the LLRW generated within its borders by 1993. The Department of Energy accepted these certifications. 12 As compact negotiations continued, Michigan rejected three proposed sites for a disposal facility and continually failed to advance the siting process. Finding that Michigan failed to meet its responsibilities as the designated host state, the other members of the compact voted in April 1991 to revoke Michigan's membership. 13 By this time, Michigan had filed suit 2 against the United States (the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy) in the Western District of Michigan. Counts I through V sought declarations that the 1985 Policy Act amendments violated constitutional principles of federalism by imposing impermissible responsibilities on the States. Counts VI and VII set forth Michigan's claims under NEPA, which requires that a federal agency prepare an EIS whenever that agency contemplates taking major federal action which may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. See 42 U.S.C. § 4332. Michigan sought mandamus relief to compel the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy to prepare two separate EISes before January 1, 1992-- 14 1) a supplement to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 1982 EIS reevaluating the environmental effects of the Part 61 licensing regulations in light of declining LLRW volumes and in light of the projected increase in disposal facilities resulting from the Policy Act's requirements; and 15 2) a programmatic EIS considering the potential impact of all proposed LLRW disposal facilities on the disposal of LLRW in light of the declining LLRW volumes. 16 Michigan claimed that it should be relieved from its obligations under the 1985 Act pending the outcome of the obligations of the [Commission] to prepare the EISes. The United States moved to dismiss the NEPA claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. The district court granted the motion to dismiss, finding that Michigan's constitutional challenges to the Policy Act, Counts I through V, were without merit. Michigan v. United States, 773 F.Supp. 997 (W.D.Mich.1991). With regard to Counts VI and VII, the district court concluded that Michigan had standing to assert its NEPA claims only if the claims were interpreted as part of an effort to force revisions to the Part 61 regulations. Because the relevant jurisdictional statutes require that requests for revisions to the regulations be raised first before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in administrative proceedings, with direct judicial review in a court of appeals, the district court found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Michigan's NEPA claims. Id. at 1004. The court concluded that if, as Michigan claimed, Michigan's NEPA claims were not a challenge to the regulations, Michigan lacked Article III standing, and the court had no power to decide the case. Id. 17 Michigan appeals the portion of the order disposing of its NEPA claims. 3