Opinion ID: 2542811
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the traditional test

Text: ¶19 The first test we articulated in Jenkins v. Swan, 675 P.2d 1145, 1150 (Utah 1983), addresses the traditional criteria for standing. The traditional test is often referred to as the distinct and palpable injury requirement because the petitioning party must allege that it has suffered or will No. 20050455 8 suffer[] some distinct and palpable injury that gives [it] a personal stake in the outcome of the legal dispute. Id. at 1148. When determining whether a party has suffered a distinct and palpable injury, we engage in a three-step inquiry. See id. at 1150. First, the party must assert that it has been or will be adversely affected by the [challenged] actions. Id. Second, the party must allege a causal relationship between the injury to the party, the [challenged] actions and the relief requested. Id. Third, the relief requested must be substantially likely to redress the injury claimed. Id. at 1149. If the party can satisfy these three criteria, the party has standing to pursue its claims before the courts of this state. ¶20 The traditional test addresses whether the party has a real and personal interest in the dispute. Id. at 1150. A party who satisfies all three of the traditional criteria will have the incentive to fully develop[] all the material factual and legal issues in an effort to convince the court that the relief requested will redress the claimed injury. Id. Thus, the traditional standing test helps confine the courts' jurisdiction to cases appropriately resolved through the adversarial judicial process. ¶21 In this case, we must address the traditional criteria through the lens of associational standing. An association, such as the Sierra Club, has standing if its individual members have standing and the participation of the individual members is not necessary to the resolution of the case. Utah Rest. Assoc. v. Davis County Bd. of Health, 709 P.2d 1159, 1163 (Utah 1985). Thus, to determine whether the Sierra Club has standing, we must assess whether its individual members have standing to challenge the order under the traditional test. We hold that they do; the Sierra Club's affiants have identified personal adverse effects, sufficient causation, and redressability. In addition, their individual participation is not essential to the resolution of this case. ¶22 Two of the Sierra Club's affiants, Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts, have satisfied the first inquiry of the traditional test because they have alleged that the order approving the plant adversely affects them. Both Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts claim that, once built, the plant will adversely impact their livelihoods. Mr. Cass argues the decreased visibility will impair his ability to film the Colorado Plateau, while Ms. Roberts maintains the pollution will damage the soil and, in turn, her crops. Both also allege that the pollutants emitted by the plant will harm their health and their families' health, devalue their property, and detrimentally impact the ecosystem of the Colorado Plateau, which they use for recreational activities. ¶23 These alleged adverse effects are sufficiently particularized to give Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts a personal stake in the outcome of the dispute. Mr. Cass' and Ms. Roberts' allegations that the plant operations will damage their livelihoods are not generalized to everyone in the area; these potential injuries affect only those who rely on the area and its environmental quality to make a living. The injuries Mr. Cass may suffer as a videographer and Ms. Roberts may suffer as a farmer are separate and distinct from the potential injuries to other persons who either live in Sigurd or recreate around the Colorado Plateau and are not videographers or farmers. ¶24 We conclude, furthermore, that Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have identified sufficient adverse effects even without the allegations that the plant will affect their economic livelihoods. By claiming injuries to their health, property, and recreational activities, they have shown that they have a particularized stake in the outcome of the dispute. While these concerns may be shared by many who live in Sigurd or who participate in recreational activities around the Colorado Plateau, Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have not complained about the impact of the plant's emissions on the community in general, but have claimed that the emissions will directly affect them and their families. In other words, they are alleging private, rather than public, injuries. That others may also share their concerns and be subject to the same specific, individualized injuries does not make the potential harms any less personal to Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts. ¶25 We recognize that in some settings this court has been hesitant to address injuries shared by too many members of the public. In Society of Professional Journalists v. Bullock, 743 P.2d 1166, 1174 (Utah 1987), we explained that this hesitancy is rooted in concerns about courts deciding matters that are not properly reduced to a concrete dispute . . . and in concerns about considering matters better dealt with by another branch of government. Recognizing that these underlying policies would not be offended, we relaxed our standing requirement in Society of Professional Journalists and held that anyone who claimed, attempted to exercise, and was denied a right of access to a judicial proceeding had suffered an adequate adverse impact to satisfy the standing requirement even though the adverse impact was shared by all members of that class. Id. In so holding, we reiterated that '[i]t is difficult to make useful, all inclusive generalizations that determine whether standing exists in any given case, since the issue often depends on the facts of each case.' Id. (quoting Terracor v. Utah Bd. of State Lands & Forestry, 716 P.2d 796, 799 (Utah 1986)). Thus, our holding in Society of Professional Journalists recognizes that there may be cases where it is appropriate to grant standing to persons who share the same or similar grievances as other individuals or groups. ¶26 The present case falls within this category. As in Society of Professional Journalists, none of the policies that have given rise to this court's past hesitancy to address injuries shared by all members of the general public would be offended by holding that Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts, and in turn the Sierra Club, have standing. The issue is whether the Executive Secretary complied with various state and federal laws in granting the permit for the plant. This is a concrete dispute regarding the potentially harmful results of the Executive Secretary's alleged failure to follow existing law, and not merely an academic dispute about the environmental harms of coal-fired power plants in general. While some of the injuries Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts allege are shared by others who live and recreate near Sigurd, Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts do have a direct interest in the dispute as their livelihood, health, and property values are at stake. Moreover, there is no concern about courts, or the Board, resolving questions that are best left to the other branches of government. In this case, the proper branches of government have already passed the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401 to 7671q (2000), the Utah Air Conservation Act, Utah Code Ann. §§ 19-2-101 to -127 (2003 & Supp. 2005), and the Utah Administrative Procedures Act, Utah Code Ann. §§ 63-46b-0.5 to  23 (2004 & Supp. 2005). Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts, through the Sierra Club, are merely asking that they be given the opportunity to ensure that the Executive Secretary comply with and the Board enforce these laws. We therefore hold that even though there are others who have the same grievances as Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts, the potential injuries raised by Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts are sufficient to satisfy the adverse effects requirement under the traditional standing test. ¶27 While Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have adequately alleged that they will be adversely affected by the order, it is questionable whether the Sierra Club's third affiant, Mr. Cherry, has asserted a sufficiently particularized injury. His affidavit expresses general concerns about the plant with the exception of his allegation that he will be adversely affected by the deterioration of visibility. Expressions of concern, without a claim of actual or potential injury to the party, are too generalized to qualify as a distinct and palpable injury under the traditional criteria. Mr. Cherry's general affidavit does not defeat the Sierra Club's standing, however; it is enough that two of the Sierra Club's members can establish a particularized stake in the outcome of the dispute. Because his affidavit is not essential to the Sierra Club's standing, we need not determine whether his concerns about decreased visibility, considered alone, would qualify as a sufficient adverse impact. ¶28 Our holding that Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have sufficiently asserted that the order adversely affects them does not open the door to standing too widely, removing all practical barriers to intervention by any third party in environmental litigation. Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have met the adverse effects requirement because they either live or recreate, or both, near the site of the plant and have alleged injuries that are particular to them, rather than expressing generalized concerns about the plant's impact on the public at large. Thus, while Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have identified a particularized injury, a Logan resident who does not have a home or recreational interests in the area probably could not allege sufficiently particularized adverse impacts, regardless of his or her concerns about pollution and its potential to harm the environment and public health. Such generalized interests are too attenuated to create a sufficient personal stake in the litigation and would not satisfy the adverse effects requirement. The determination of what claimed interests are sufficient and what interests are too attenuated must be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant facts and the policies underlying our standing requirement. [3] ¶29 Before considering whether the Sierra Club has satisfied the causation and redressability requirements, we wish to comment briefly on the Board's decision to deny standing to the Sierra Club but to grant it to the Citizens' Group. The Board held that, unlike the Sierra Club, the Citizens' Group had standing because it had alleged a sufficiently distinct and palpable injury. Specifically, the Board stated that the Citizens' Group's [a]ffidavits and statements include not only assertions of effect on visibility and the environment but contain specific claims of potential for or exacerbation of identified respiratory illnesses and other physical conditions on members and their families who live in close proximity to the plant. We reject the suggestion that a party must identify a risk to an existing health condition in order to have standing. If the emissions from the proposed power plant have the potential to harm the health of those persons who live in the area, we see no reason why those residents must actually develop a health problem before they have standing. ¶30 We are further troubled by the implication that the Board granted standing to the Citizens' Group over the Sierra Club because the Citizens' Group pointed to identified health concerns in addition to environmental harms. Standing was not designed to provide remedies solely for potential threats to health, but for all legally cognizable interests. The Sierra Club's affiants' claims of adverse effects to their livelihoods and recreation due to decreased visibility and environmental damage are valid interests for purposes of our standing analysis, regardless of whether they are accompanied by concerns about health. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 562-63 (1992) (Of course, the desire to use or observe an animal species, even for purely esthetic purposes, is undeniably a cognizable interest for purpose of standing.). We note, however, that while recreational interests are legally cognizable interests for purposes of our standing analysis, not all allegations of injury to a recreational interest will automatically qualify. For example, in Defenders of Wildlife, the United States Supreme Court recognized that aesthetic interests in wildlife are legally cognizable interests, but held that in order for a party to assert such an interest, the party had to show a direct and imminent injury to that interest. Id. at 564. In that case, the affiants alleged that they had standing to challenge the government action based on their past visits to the endangered areas and their hope to revisit those same areas in the future. Id. However, the Court held that the affiants' past visits did not give them standing, noting [p]ast exposure [did] not in itself show a present case or controversy. . . if unaccompanied by any continuing, present adverse effects. Id. (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Likewise, the Court held that the affiants' hopes to revisit the areas were insufficient to show injury to a legally protected interest because 'some day' intentionswithout any description of concrete plans, or indeed even any specification of when the some day will bedo not support a finding of the `actual or imminent' injury that our cases require. Id. (emphasis in original). ¶31 We agree that a plaintiff who alleges only past recreational exposure to a threatened area without any concrete plans to return to that area would not have a sufficiently personalized stake in the dispute to challenge a proposed government action in the courts. However, Mr. Cass and Ms. Roberts have clearly established a legally cognizable recreational interest in that they both own homes in the threatened area and have demonstrated that they frequently use and will continue to use the area for recreation. Moreover, in this case, the Sierra Club's affiants also asserted concerns about health risks to them and their families. Thus, the Sierra Club's affiants' claims of the plant's adverse environmental effects and the resulting harms to their livelihood, recreational activities, and physical well-being satisfy the first part of our test. We leave for another day the challenge of further defining the extent of use a party must allege in order to prove that it has a legally protected recreational interest that entitles it to assert that interest before the courts of this state. ¶32 Having concluded that the Sierra Club's affiants have shown a distinct and palpable injury, we now turn to whether they have alleged a plausible connection between their injuries and the order authorizing the plant. The affiants have met that burden. Because the Executive Secretary is responsible for denying or granting permits for the construction and operation of the plant, his decision to grant the order is directly connected to the construction and operation of the plant and to any resulting harms. Furthermore, the affidavits allege that the greenhouse gas and other emissions from the plant will cause various injuries, including health problems, decreased visibility around the Colorado Plateau, soil damage, water pollution, and property devaluation. Rather than raising general allegations that the mere presence of a coal-fired power plant will cause the alleged harms, the affidavits point to specific aspects of the plant that will cause specific harms. For example, the affiants contend that the levels of mercury, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide contained in the emissions as a potential cause of increased health problems, decreased visibility due to air pollution, and harm to local fish and wildlife. [4] Likewise, Mr. Cass, the videographer, uses his prior experience to support his claims that the plant's emissions will increase pollution in and decrease visibility, specifically stating that [he has noticed] that when visibility is impaired from pollution, [he] cannot see as far, the colors of the land forms are muted, and distant formations [are] less distinct. While it is true the affiants have not yet had the opportunity to present scientific evidence that proves the plant will cause the alleged harms, they have alleged that they could prove causation, [5] and that is all that is required at this phase. Standing questions arise early in the litigation, usually before. discovery and the introduction of evidence. See Jenkins, 675 P.2d at 1150 ([S]tanding questions are usually raised prior to the introduction of any evidence.). Thus, a plaintiff claiming standing under the traditional criteria does not need to prove causation to the same extent it will be required to prove it at trial. Id. Otherwise, the investigation of standing-related facts would, in many cases, supplant the trial process on the merits of the underlying claim. Moreover, it would be unduly burdensome for litigants to invest the time and money in gathering the evidence necessary to prove their claim only to be denied standing. Based on the foregoing, we believe that the affiants have alleged plausible causation; thus, the Sierra Club may conduct discovery and present evidence before the Board. ¶33 Finally, the Board has the power to redress the affiants' injuries. Through the Sierra Club, the affiants have requested that the Board declare the air emissions permit illegal, revoke the order, and remand the matter to the Division of Air Quality for further analysis. Because the Board is the only party with the authority to grant this relief, it has the power to redress the Sierra Club's injury by declaring the permit illegal or at least referring the permit to the Division of Air Quality for further analysis to ensure that the Executive Secretary's order authorizing the plant's operation complies state and federal law. ¶34 We therefore conclude that, like the members of the Citizens' Group, the Sierra Club's members have alleged a distinct and palpable injury that the plant will cause and that the Board can remedy by granting the requested relief. Although the number of affected members in the Sierra Club is far smaller than the 500 affected members of the Citizens' Group, this does not change the Sierra Club's associational standing. An association has standing to pursue the claims of its members, whether it be two or five hundred; there is no threshold number of members that an association must have as a prerequisite to standing. Moreover, there is no reason the individual participation of the Sierra Club's members is necessary to the resolution of this case. Thus, the Sierra Club has satisfied our traditional criteria and is entitled to standing to challenge the order approving the proposed plant.