City of Kennett v. Envtl. Prot. Agency
Opinion
The City of Kennett, Missouri, sued the Environmental Protection Agency, challenging the EPA's approval of a total maximum daily load for Buffalo Ditch. The district court granted summary judgment for the EPA. The City appeals. Having jurisdiction under
I.
The Clean Water Act requires, subject to EPA approval, states to establish "water quality standards."
See
To achieve water quality standards, the Act imposes "effluent limitations" under sections 1311(b)(1)(A) and (B). An "effluent limitation" is "any restriction ... on quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, and other constituents which are discharged from point sources into" certain waters.
§ 1362(11)
. A "point source," is "any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance ... from which pollutants are or may be discharged"-
e.g.
, a drainpipe at a wastewater treatment plant.
§ 1362(14)
. But these effluent limitations may not be enough for all waters. States must "identify those waters within its boundaries for which the effluent limitations required by section 1311(b)(1)(A) and section 1311(b)(1)(B) of this title are not stringent enough to implement any water quality standard applicable to such waters."
§ 1313(d)(1)(A)
. These are called "impaired waters."
See, e.g.
,
Missouri Soybean Ass'n v. EPA
,
For impaired waters, states shall establish, subject to EPA approval, "the total maximum daily load" (TMDL) for certain
*428
pollutants.
§ 1313(d)(1)(C)
,
(d)(2)
. "Such load shall be established at a level necessary to implement the applicable water quality standards with seasonal variations and a margin of safety ...."
§ 1313(d)(1)(C)
. The TMDL calculates the impaired water's "loading capacity"-the greatest amount of a pollutant that can be introduced without violating water quality standards.
TMDLs are implemented by a pollution permitting program. A "discharge of any pollutant" must comply with specified provisions of the Act.
The EPA can issue permits, but states can-and Missouri does-administer their own NPDES permit programs.
§ 1342(a)
-
(b)
. States must notify the EPA when they intend to issue a permit.
§ 1342(d)(1)
. If the EPA objects that the permit is "outside the guidelines and requirements" of the Act, "[n]o permit shall issue."
§ 1342(d)(2)
.
See
II.
Buffalo Ditch is a stream that runs southwest into Arkansas from the City. The City's Wastewater Treatment Plant is a point source of pollutants into it. Parts of Buffalo Ditch have been on Missouri's EPA-approved list of impaired waters since 1994, due to low levels of dissolved oxygen (DO), which benefits aquatic life. The water-quality criterion for DO in Missouri streams (with exceptions not relevant here) is 5 mg/L. Parts of Buffalo Ditch have historically not met this criterion (had less than 5 mg/L DO).
In 2001, with the EPA behind on establishing TMDLs, a court ordered it to approve a TMDL for Buffalo Ditch by the end of 2010. Before then, Buffalo Ditch had no TMDL. In 2009, Missouri published a draft TMDL, which identified the Treatment Plant as the primary point source. The City submitted comments and questions. Missouri responded, made adjustments, and submitted a final version to the EPA. The EPA approved it in 2010.
The final TMDL sets wasteload allocations for pollutants from the Treatment Plant. These wasteload allocations are more stringent than the limits in the City's NPDES permit. For example, the City's *429 permit has limits of 65 mg/L of biochemical oxygen demand and 110 mg/L of total suspended solids (both on a weekly-average basis). The TMDL sets wasteload allocations for these two pollutants at 5 mg/L and 31 mg/L, respectively. The City's permit was to expire in 2015. 1
In its "Implementation Plan" for point sources, the TMDL says (emphasis added):
This TMDL will be implemented partially through permit action. ... Wasteload allocations developed for this TMDL will be used to derive new effluent limits .... However, it is the intention of the [Missouri Department of Natural Resources] that prior to implementation of these wasteload allocations, either the department or the city will determine whether the dissolved oxygen criterion of 5 mg/L ... is appropriate or if a site-specific dissolved oxygen criterion is required .... If it is determined that the current water quality criterion for dissolved oxygen is appropriate, the wasteload allocations from the TMDL will be implemented. If it is determined not to be appropriate, and a new dissolved oxygen criterion is promulgated, then new wasteload allocations will be calculated and implemented.
Despite this intention, the DO criterion and the TMDL have apparently not changed.
The City sued, alleging three counts: (1) the EPA exceeded its authority in approving the TMDL; (2) the EPA acted arbitrarily and capriciously; (3) the EPA failed to provide the required notice and comment. 2 The City asked the district court to declare the TMDL unlawful, vacate it, remand it to the EPA, and enjoin its enforcement.
The district court ordered the parties to file cross-motions for summary judgment, saying that "this case should be able to be resolved pursuant to dispositive motions based on the administrative record that formed the basis of the administrative decision of EPA being challenged." In support of its cross-motion, the City argued for summary judgment on counts one and two, asserting that full implementation of the TMDL would not bring Buffalo Ditch into compliance with the DO criterion because of nonpoint pollution.
In support of its cross-motion, the EPA argued that (1) the City waived counts one and two by not raising its arguments in the administrative process; (2) the City waived count three by failing to argue for summary judgment on it; (3) the City lacked standing because a favorable decision would not redress its injury; and (4) it was entitled to summary judgment on the merits.
The district court granted summary judgment to the EPA. The court ruled that standing and ripeness were lacking, because the City will suffer harm only if and when the TMDL is implemented. The court did not address the EPA's waiver or merits arguments.
*430
This court reviews de novo standing and ripeness determinations, and grants of summary judgment.
Heglund v. Aitkin County
,
III.
The EPA argues the City waived count three-inadequate notice and comment. In its memorandum supporting summary judgment, the City did not mention or argue for summary judgment on count three. Nor did its reply and surreply memos respond to the EPA's arguments for summary judgment on that count. "[F]ailure to oppose a basis for summary judgment constitutes waiver of that argument."
Satcher v. Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Bd. of Trs.
,
IV.
"[T]he 'irreducible constitutional minimum' of standing consists of three elements ... The plaintiff must have (1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision."
Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
, --- U.S. ----,
The issue is whether the City has standing to bring counts one and two. The City argues that (1) it will incur compliance costs when the TMDL is implemented; (2) these costs are fairly traceable to the EPA's approval of the TMDL; and (3) they are likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. The second element-causation-is met and not in dispute.
See
A.
"To establish injury in fact, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered 'an invasion of a legally protected interest' that is 'concrete and particularized' and 'actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.' "
Spokeo
,
The
Iowa League of Cities
case is controlling. There, the League challenged EPA letters that it alleged imposed new limitations on the point-source discharge of its member cities.
Iowa League
,
At least some members are currently operating under permits that allow them to utilize [certain methods of discharge] inconsistent with the EPA letters, which they must imminently rectify. ... Moving into compliance will be costly. The league has therefore articulated an injury in fact.
At the commencement of this suit, the City was operating under a permit that allowed discharge inconsistent with the TMDL. The permit was set to expire in 13 months. Any new permit must contain more stringent limits on discharge, consistent with the TMDL's wasteload allocations for the Treatment Plant. Moving into compliance will be costly. In its brief, the EPA "does not question that the City may eventually have to expend funds in connection with the TMDL," nor "contest that the expenditure of money to comply with [ ] final permit conditions established to implement a TMDL generally is sufficient injury to support standing to challenge the TMDL." The City has established injury in fact.
See
Am. Farm Bureau
,
The district court relied on
City of Dover v. EPA
,
The City's injury is certainly impending despite Missouri's "intention," expressed in the TMDL, to review the DO criterion before implementing the TMDL. Once approved by the EPA, the TMDL's wasteload allocations are binding on future permits unless the EPA approves a replacement TMDL. To say that the permit will comply with the TMDL is not "conjectural."
Cf.
Clapper
,
B.
For redressability, it must be " 'likely,' as opposed to merely 'speculative,' that [the City's] injury will be redressed by a favorable decision."
Balogh v. Lombardi
,
But the City does not seek a more stringent TMDL. It seeks to vacate the EPA's approval of the current one and remand it to the EPA. On remand, the EPA and Missouri might address the TMDL's deficiencies by making it more stringent. This would likely result in the same or higher compliance costs for the City. But this is not the only possibility. The City hopes that the EPA and Missouri will address the DO criterion, which the City sees as the fundamental problem. According to the City, 5 mg/L DO is unattainable at Buffalo Ditch "regardless of any action or inaction on the part of the City" and "even with drastic reductions to non-point source contributions ...." In the TMDL, after all, Missouri questioned whether the DO criterion was appropriate for Buffalo Ditch. A lower DO criterion would likely result in lower compliance costs for the City.
It is not clear which possibility is more likely. But if the City does not prevent its injury, it will at least delay it. The delay would last at least until the EPA approves a new TMDL, which may exceed the duration of the City's permit(s). Redressability is met where a favorable decision "avoids, or at least delays," a regulatory burden.
Nat'l Parks Conservation
,
V.
"Determining whether administrative action is ripe for judicial review requires us to evaluate (1) the fitness of the issues for judicial decision and (2) the hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration."
Nat'l Park Hospitality Ass'n v. Dep't of Interior
,
"Fitness rests primarily on whether a case would benefit from further factual development ...."
Iowa League
,
"The hardship factor looks to the harm parties would suffer, both financially and as a result of uncertainty-induced behavior modification in the absence of judicial review."
Although the EPA portrays the harm as lurking, if at all, on the distant horizon, the threatened harm is more immediate, and it is certainly not speculative. League members must either immediately alter their behavior or play an expensive game of Russian roulette with taxpayer money, investing significant resources in designing and utilizing processes that-if these letters are in effect new legislative rules-were viable before the publication of the letters but will be rejected when the letters are applied as written. ... Postponing our review until the EPA has denied a permit application in accord with the letters renders a hardship on municipal water authorities, who already would have invested irretrievable funds into their applications.
This applies here, where the City must make planning decisions based on the TMDL's wasteload allocations.
See
Am. Farm Bureau
,
The EPA emphasizes Missouri's "intention" to review the DO criterion before implementation of the TMDL. The EPA proposes delaying review, because implementation is a "contingent future event[ ] that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all."
See
Kennedy v. Ferguson
,
VI.
The EPA argues that the City waived claims one and two by not raising its arguments in the administrative process. Because it would be beneficial, this court remands this argument to the district court for consideration in the first instance and, if necessary, the merits of counts one and two.
See
Loftness Specialized Farm Equip., Inc. v. Twiestmeyer
,
The judgment is affirmed as to counts three and four, and otherwise vacated and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
At oral argument in this court, the City said the 2010 permit had been "continued" pending a new one. The EPA's brief to this court says that after the district court's decision, Missouri proposed a permit, but the EPA objected on grounds that it "did not appear to include wasteload effluent limitations that are consistent with the assumptions and requirements of the TMDL." According to the EPA, this "interim objection" pauses its review until Missouri responds.
In a fourth count, the City asked for relief pending review under
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CITY OF KENNETT, MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; Karl Brooks, in His Official Capacity as Regional Administrator of EPA Region 7, Defendants-Appellees.
- Cited By
- 22 cases
- Status
- Published