Am. Farm Bureau Fed'n v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency
| Decision Date | 06 July 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 13–4079.,13–4079. |
| Citation | 792 F.3d 281 |
| Parties | AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; The Fertilizer Institute; National Chicken Council ; United States Poultry & Egg Association; National Pork Producers Council; National Corn Growers Association; National Turkey Federation; National Association of Home Builders v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc; Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future; Defenders of Wildlife; Jefferson County Public Service District; Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy ; National Wildlife Federation; Virgina Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, Inc.; Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies; National Association of Clean Water Agencies; Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association ; City of Anapolis, Maryland (Intervenors in D.C.). American Farm Bureau Federation; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; The Fertilizer Institute; National Chicken Council ; U.S. Poultry & Egg Association; National Pork Producers Council; National Corn Growers Association; National Turkey Federation; National Association of Home Builders, Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
Paul J. Bruder, Esquire, Amanda J. Lavis, Esquire, Robert J. Tribeck, Esquire, Rhoads & Sinon, Harrisburg, PA, Kirsten L. Nathanson, Esquire, Richard E. Schwartz, Esquire (Argued), David Y. Chung, Esquire, Crowell & Moring, Washington, DC, Ellen Steen, Esquire, Danielle Quist, Esquire, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, DC, Gregg I. Adelman, Esquire, William D. Auxer, Esquire, Marc B. Kaplin, Esquire, Kaplin, Stewart, Meloff, Reiter & Stein, Blue Bell, PA, Counsel for Appellants.
Stephen R. Cerutti, II, Esquire, Office of United States Attorney, Harrisburg, PA, Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Kent E. Hanson, Esquire, J. David Gunter, II, Esquire (Argued), James Curtin, Esquire, Christopher Day, Esquire, Kelly Gable, Esquire, United States Department of Justice, Environmental Defense Section, Environment & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC, Counsel for Appellee, U.S. EPA.
John A. Mueller, Esquire (Argued), Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis, MD, Lee Ann H. Murray, Esquire, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Harrisburg, PA, Richard A. Parrish, Esquire, Southern Environmental Law Center, Charlottesville, VA, Counsel for Intervenor Appellees: Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, Defenders of Wildlife, Jefferson County Public Service District, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation.
Lisa M. Ochsenhirt, Esquire, Christopher D. Pomeroy, Esquire (Argued), Justin W. Curtis, Esquire, Carla S. Pool, Esquire, AquaLaw, Richmond, VA, Counsel for Intervenor Appellees: Virginia Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, Inc., Maryland Association of Municipal Wastewater Agencies, National Association of Clean Water Agencies.
Steven A. Hann, Esquire (Argued), Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, Landsdale, PA, Counsel for Intervenor Appellee Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association.
Cory L. Andrews, Esquire, Richard A. Samp, Esquire, Washington Legal Foundation, Washington, DC, Counsel for Amici Appellants: Representatives Robert Aderholt, Lou Barletta, Joe Barton, Marsha Blackburn, Kevin Brady, Chris Collins, Doug Collins, Scott Desjarlais, Jeff Duncan, John Fleming, Bob Gibbs, Louie Gohmert, Bob Goodlatte, Sam Graves, Morgan Griffith ; Brett Guthrie, Andy Harris, Vicky Hartzler, Tim Huelskamp, Robert Hurt, Billy Long, Frank Lucas, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Thomas Massie, David McKinley, Randy Neugebauer, Scott Perry, Collin Peterson, Robert Pittenger, Mike Pompeo, Todd Rokita, Dennis A. Ross, Kurt Schrader, Bill Shuster, Adrian Smith, Glenn Thompson, Scott Tipton, Pat Toomey, David Vitter, Washington Legal Foundation.
Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York.
Hilary Meltzer, Esquire, Haley Stein, Esquire, Scott N. Shorr, Esquire, New York City Law Department, New York, NY, Counsel for Amici Appellees: City of New York, City of Baltimore MD, City of Chicago, City of Los Angeles, City of Philadelphia, City of San Francisco, County of San Francisco.
Stuart A. Raphael, Solicitor General of Virginia, Trevor S. Cox, Deputy Solicitor General, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Cynthia E. Hudson, Chief Deputy Attorney General, John W. Daniel, II, Deputy Attorney General, Joshua D. Heslinga, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Attorney General of Virginia, Richmond, VA, Counsel for Amicus Appellee Commonwealth of Virginia.
Allison M. LaPlante, Esquire, Lewis & Clark Law School, Earthrise Law Center, Portland, OR, Counsel for Individual Amici Appellees: Robert W. Adler, William Andreen, Michael C. Blumm, David Case, Jamison E. Colburn, Victor B. Flatt, William Funk, Professor Craig N. Johnston, Jeffrey G. Miller, Patrick Parenteau, Robert Percival, Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Melissa Powers, Kalyani Robbins, Daniel Rohlf, Erin Ryan, Gerald Torres.
Justin M. Gundlach, Esquire, Hope M. Babcock, Esquire, Brian S. Wolfman, Esquire, Washington, DC, Counsel for Amici Appellees: Alliance for the Great Lakes, Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Card Sound Yachts Inc., Charleston Waterkeeper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Cook Inletkeeper, Grand Riverkeeper, Grand Traverse Baykeeper, Gulf Restoration Network, Hoosier Environmental Law Center, Kansas Riverkeeper for Friends of the Kaw, Kentucky Resources Council, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper, Missouri Coalition for Environment, National Parks Conservation Association, Nebraska Wildlife Federation, Ocean Reed Conservation Association, One World Adventure Co., Ozark Society, Save The Dunes, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Utah Rivers Council, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Wyoming Outdoor Council.
Derek Schmidt, Kansas Attorney General, Jeffrey A. Chanay, Deputy Attorney General, Bryan C. Clark, Assistant Solicitor General, Topeka, KS, Chris Koster, Missouri Attorney General, Gregory F. Zoeller, Indiana Attorney General, Luther Strange, Alabama Attorney General, Michael C. Geraghty, Alaska Attorney General, Dustin M. McDaniel, Arkansas Attorney General, Pamela Jo Bondi, Florida Attorney General, Samuel S. Olens, Georgia Attorney General, Jack Conway, Kentucky Attorney General, James D. Caldwell, Louisiana Attorney General, Bill Schuette, Michigan Attorney General, Timothy C. Fox, Montana Attorney General, Jon Bruning, Nebraska Attorney General, Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota Attorney General, E. Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma Attorney General, Alan Wilson, South Carolina Attorney General, Marty J. Jackley, South Dakota Attorney General, Gregg Abbott, Texas Attorney General, Sean D. Reyes, Utah Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia Attorney General, Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney General, Counsel for Amicus Appellants: States of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.
Brooks M. Smith, Esquire, Troutman Sanders, LLP, Richmond, VA, Maria V. Souder, Esquire, Troutman Sanders, LLP, Atlanta, GA, Counsel for Amici Appellees: Clearfield County Pennsylvania, County of Cambria, County of Hardy West Virginia, County of Pendleton West Virginia, County of Perry, County of Tioga, Lancaster County, New Castle County.
William P. Bowden, Esquire, Amanda M. Winfree Herrmann, Esquire, Ashby & Geddes, Wilmington, DE, Russell B. Stevenson, Jr., Esquire, Severna Park, MD, Ridgway Hall, Esquire, Washington, DC, Counsel for Amicus Appellee City of Annapolis.
Bradley I.B. Marshall, Esquire, Earthjustice, Tallahassee, FL, Counsel for Amici Appellees: Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper.
Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General of Maryland, Peter K. Killough, Steven R. Johnson, Paul N. De Santis, Assistant Attorneys General, Office of the Attorney General, Baltimore, MD, Matthew Denn, Attorney General of Delaware, Wilmington, DE, Irvin B. Nathan, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, Counsel for Amici Appellees: States of Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia.
Before: AMBRO, SCIRICA, and ROTH, Circuit Judges.
| i. | Allocations Between Point and Nonpoint Sources | 299 |
| “Deadlines” or “Target Dates” | 300 | |
| Reasonable Assurance | 300 | |
| iv. | Summary of Structure and Purpose | 300 |
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in 2010 the “total maximum daily load” (“TMDL”) of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment that can be released into the Chesapeake Bay (the “Bay”) to comply with the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq. The TMDL is a comprehensive framework for pollution reduction designed to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity” of the Bay, 33 U.S.C. § 1251, the subject of much ecological concern over several decades.
Trade associations with members who will be affected by the TMDL's implementation—the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Home Builders, and other organizations for agricultural industries that include fertilizer, corn, pork, and poultry operations (collectively, “Farm Bureau”)—sued. They...
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Table of authorities
.......................................................................................................808 American Farm Bureau Fed’n v. EPA, 792 F.3d 281 (3d Cir. 2015) ..................263, 984 American Iron & Steel Inst. v. EPA, 115 F.3d 979, 27 ELR 21241 (D.C. Cir. 1997) .......................