Independence Min. Co., Inc. v. Babbitt

• Decision Date: 23 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 95-16112,95-16112
• Citation: 105 F.3d 502
• Parties: 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 516, 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 829 INDEPENDENCE MINING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Bruce BABBITT, Secretary of the Interior; United States Department of the Interior; and The Bureau of Land Management, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 502

105 F.3d 502

97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 516, 97 Daily Journal

D.A.R. 829

INDEPENDENCE MINING COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Bruce BABBITT, Secretary of the Interior; United States

Department of the Interior; and The Bureau of

Land Management, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 95-16112.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Sept. 16, 1996.

Decided Jan. 23, 1997.

R. Timothy McCrum, Crowell & Moring, Washington, D.C.; Earl M. Hill, Marshall Hill Cassas & De Lipkau, Reno, Nevada, for plaintiff-appellant.

Lisa E. Jones, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; Natalie Eades, United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Washington, D.C., for the federal appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Edward C. Reed, Jr., District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-94-609-ECR.

Before CANBY and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges, and KING, District Judge. ^*

OPINION

KING, District Judge:

Independence Mining Company, Inc. ("IMC") appeals the district court's denial of its motion seeking a writ of mandamus or an order compelling the Secretary of the Interior to determine the validity of its mineral patent claims and, if appropriate, issue patents for the claims. IMC contends the district court erred in refusing to direct such actions because IMC had shown the Secretary had enacted certain changes to the procedures for processing mineral patent applications for the purpose and with the effect of unreasonably delaying that process. IMC also argues the district court erred in relying on the Secretary's allegedly post hoc explanations for enacting one of those changes.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW AND JURISDICTION

The extraordinary remedy of mandamus traditionally lies within the court's discretion. Oregon Natural Resources Council v. Harrell, 52 F.3d 1499, 1508 (9th Cir.1995) (listing elements of mandamus test); Garcia v. Taylor, 40 F.3d 299, 301 (9th Cir.1994), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in, Campos v. I.N.S., 62 F.3d 311, 314 (9th Cir.1995); Fallini v. Hodel, 783 F.2d 1343, 1345 (9th Cir.1986). Whether the elements of the mandamus test are satisfied is a question of law reviewed de novo. Oregon Natural Resources Council, 52 F.3d at 1508; Garcia, 40 F.3d at 301. The trial court retains discretion in ordering mandamus relief, however, even if all elements are satisfied. Oregon Natural Resources Council, 52 F.3d at 1508. A trial court abuses its discretion when its decision is based on clearly erroneous factual findings or an incorrect legal standard. Garcia, 40 F.3d at 301; Fallini, 783 F.2d at 1345.

The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1361 and 5 U.S.C. § 706(1). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

BACKGROUND

IMC is the majority partner in a joint venture that operates the Jerritt Canyon Mine and Mill in Elko County, Nevada. Between February, 1991 and September, 1992, IMC filed twelve applications for mineral patents covering a total of seventy-two lode mining claims and 156 mill sites. ¹ As of August 31, 1994, no patents had been issued for any of the claims. ²

As a result of the delay, IMC filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada on August 31, 1994. The complaint alleged, inter alia, that appellees Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior ("Secretary"), the United States Department of the Interior ("DOI"), and the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") (collectively, the "government") unreasonably and intentionally delayed processing IMC's mineral patent applications filed pursuant to the General Mining Law of 1872. The bases for this charge are two procedural changes (hereafter the "administrative changes") which the Secretary instituted. He terminated a four-month pilot program allowing private contractors to perform mineral examinations, and initiated a "secretarial review" procedure, described by the district court in its opinion (IMC, 885 F.Supp. at 1359 n. 6), that requires a review up the chain of command before issuance of a patent.

In conjunction with its complaint, IMC filed a motion seeking an order of mandamus under the Mandamus and Venue Act of 1962 ("MVA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1361, or an order compelling the Secretary to make a determination on the applications pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 706, within 90 days. This was the only relief IMC sought in its complaint. Accordingly, the district court treated IMC's motion as a de facto motion for summary judgment. The government then filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.

The district court denied IMC's motion and granted the government's motion. Applying the six-factor test announced in Telecommunications Research & Action v. F.C.C., 750 F.2d 70, 79-80 (D.C.Cir.1984) ("TRAC "), ³ it concluded that the Secretary's delay was not sufficiently unreasonable to warrant the requested relief. Independence Mining Co. v. Babbitt, 885 F.Supp. 1356, 1363-64 (D.Nev.1995) (hereinafter "IMC "). IMC filed a motion for reconsideration arguing that the court erred in denying mandamus relief and in applying the TRAC factors. IMC contended that because it had acquired "vested" rights in the patents, the Secretary had a non-discretionary duty to issue such patents. It also challenged the Secretary's right to implement the administrative changes which IMC contended had the effect of unreasonably delaying the process.

The court denied this motion, holding that the rights to such patents vest only after the Secretary determines the validity of the patent applications. IMC, 885 F.Supp. at 1365. Moreover, the court found the Secretary's administrative changes to be within his plenary powers over public land. Id. at 1369-70. The court concluded that the extraordinary relief of mandamus, which would require "reaching into an agency of the executive branch and dictating the details of its internal operations," was not warranted in this case. Id. at 1364. This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION

I. Patent Application Process Under the General Mining Law

Under the General Mining Act of 1872, citizens may locate mining claims on public lands open to location. 30 U.S.C. §§ 22-54. If a discovery of a "valuable mineral deposit" is made, the claim can be held indefinitely so long as the annual assessment work is performed, the necessary filings are made, fees are paid, and a valuable mineral deposit continues to exist. See Best v. Humboldt Placer Mining Co., 371 U.S. 334, 336, 83 S.Ct. 379, 382, 9 L.Ed.2d 350 (1963). The claimant has the exclusive right to possession and enjoyment of all the surface included within the lines of the locations, but the United States retains title to the land. California Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co., 480 U.S. 572, 575, 107 S.Ct. 1419, 1422, 94 L.Ed.2d 577 (1987). This possessory interest entitles the claimant to "the right to extract all minerals from the claim without paying royalties to the United States." Swanson v. Babbitt, 3 F.3d 1348, 1350 (9th Cir.1993).

The holder of a mining claim may apply to the DOI to obtain a patent which, if issued, conveys fee title. After filing the patent application and paying the purchase price, the Secretary signs a "first half of mineral entry final certificate" (FHFC), which is the DOI's administrative recording of an applicant's compliance with the initial paperwork requirement of the Mining Law. ⁴ But, a patent is not issued until there has been a determination that the claim is valid.

Before a determination of validity can be made, a mineral examiner must do a field examination; collect and analyze samples; estimate the value of the mineral deposit and the cost of extracting, processing and marketing the minerals, including the costs of complying with any environmental and reclamation laws.

Upon completion of the mineral report, all patent applications undergo legal and secretarial review, and if approved, the patents will issue. ⁵

II. MVA/APA

The MVA provides district courts with mandamus power "to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff." 28 U.S.C. § 1361. Similarly, the APA allows a court to compel "agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed." 5 U.S.C. § 706(1). Courts may grant mandamus relief ordering an agency to act under the MVA only if the three elements of the general mandamus test are satisfied. On the other hand, courts generally apply the so-called TRAC factors in deciding whether to order relief in claims of agency delay brought under the APA. See TRAC, 750 F.2d at 79-80.

Although the exact interplay between these two statutory schemes has not been thoroughly examined by the courts, the Supreme Court has construed a claim seeking mandamus under the MVA, "in essence," as one for relief under § 706 of the APA. See Japan Whaling Ass'n v. American Cetacean Soc'y, 478 U.S. 221, 230 n. 4., 106 S.Ct. 2860, 2866 n. 4, 92 L.Ed.2d 166 (1986). Because the relief sought is essentially the same, in the form of mandamus, we elect to analyze IMC's entitlement to relief under the APA. ⁶

III. The Administrative Procedure Act

The APA provides that a court may compel "agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed." 5 U.S.C. § 706(1). We look to the so-called TRAC factors ⁷ in assessing whether relief under the APA is appropriate.

A. Rule of Reason and Congressional Timetable

Both parties agree that, under the first TRAC factor, the timeliness of an agency's actions is governed by a "rule of reason." However, IMC argues the district court failed to give sufficient weight to the General Mining Law's statutory scheme in supplying the content for this rule of reason, as provided in the second TRAC factor. But, until this year, the General Mining Law provided no express timetable or deadline for the issuance of the patents. At most, the statute implies that the issuance...