Florida Wildlife v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
| Citation | 401 F.Supp.2d 1298 |
| Decision Date | 30 September 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-80339-CIV.,05-80339-CIV. |
| Parties | FLORIDA WILDLIFE FEDERATION, a Florida not-for-profit corporation; and Sierra Club Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS; and Colonel Robert M. Carpenter, District Engineer, in his official capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
Edwin Thom Rumberger, Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell, Tallahassee, FL, David P. Reiner, II, Reiner & Reiner, Miami, Lisa B. Interlandi, Robert N. Hartsell, Lake Park, Richard Joseph Grosso, Environmental & Land Use Law Center Inc, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Florida Wildlife Federation, a Florida not for profit corporation; Sierra Club Inc., a not for profit corporation, plaintiffs.
Norman O. Hemming, III, United States Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, for Colonel Robert M. Carpenter, District Engineer, in his official capacity, United States Army Corps of Engineers, defendants.
ORDER ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 39), filed August 8, 2005; and Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 41), filed August 8, 2005. The Court has considered the parties' filings, as well as the Brief Amici Curiae of Palm Beach County and The Scripps Research Institute. (DE 48.) A hearing on the parties' motions was held on September 26, 2005, where the parties and intervenors were heard.
In this action, the Florida Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club (collectively "Plaintiffs") challenge the issuance of a permit by Defendant U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Palm Beach County, allowing the filling of federally regulated wetlands for the development of a joint project between Palm Beach County and The Scripps Research Institute, known as the Palm Beach County Biotechnology Research Park, on a property known as Mecca Farms. The permit allows for the development of 535 acres of the 1,919 acre Mecca Farms parcel designated for the Research Park. Plaintiffs allege that the Corps' decision to issue the permit violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. Plaintiffs ask the Court to find that the permit issued is invalid and to require the Corps to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement taking into account the entire scope of the planned development.
Plaintiff Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) is a private, state-wide non-profit citizen's conservation education organization, with more than 1,000 members that live, own property or work in Palm Beach County. Plaintiff Sierra Club, Inc., is a non-profit organization interested in the protection and restoration of the natural and human environment, with approximately 30,000 members in the State of Florida.
Defendant U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the agency of the federal government that issued the permit now being challenged. Defendant Colonel Robert M. Carpenter is the District Engineer of the Jacksonville District, and is sued in his official capacity.
Amici Curiae Palm Beach County and The Scripps Research Institute are contractually bound to build the proposed Biotechnology Research Park on the Mecca Farms property.1 A.R. 1628. Palm Beach County is the owner of the Mecca Farms site, and the Applicant for the permit now challenged. The Scripps Research Institute is an internationally recognized non-profit research organization, specializing in biomedical research into a number of areas, including molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, and synthetic vaccine development. Based in La Jolla, California, Scripps is located in a biotechnology cluster that includes other facilities such as the Salk Institute and the Burnham Institute.
This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question); 5 U.S.C. §§ 702 and 706(1), (2)(A), (C), (D) (Administrative Procedures Act); 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (mandamus); and 28 U.S.C. § 2201 (Declaratory Judgment Act).
Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), as the actions giving rise to this claim occurred in the Southern District of Florida, and 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e) because it is a civil action against an agency and an officer of an agency of the United States acting in his official capacity under 5 U.S.C. § 703.
The Court has reviewed the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. The Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.2
On October 8, 2003, The Scripps Research Institute ("Scripps") announced plans to open a major East Coast science center in Florida, focusing on biomedical research, technology development, and drug design. A.R. 351.
Several sites were assessed to accommodate not only the Scripps Florida facility, but also new biotech research centers and related businesses expected to follow, as well as support facilities, including commercial services, educational facilities, civic uses, and residential development for the workforce. A.R. 351.
Ultimately, the Mecca Farms site, located in Palm Beach County, was selected. The Palm Beach County Business Development Board (BDB) acquired land rights for the site, consisting of the 1,919 acre Mecca Farms.4
On November 18, 2003, Palm Beach County and the Florida Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (OTTED) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to allow for Expedited Permitting Review for the Mecca Farms site. A.R. 156. By December 18, 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to try to work with the County in an expeditious manner as well. A.R. 10.
In February 2004, Palm Beach County acquired land rights to the 1,919 Mecca Farms site, allowing the County to act as agent for the property owner and to submit applications for any changes in land use and zoning, and submit applications for any and all development approvals and permits. A.R. 172.
The County then filed with the State's OTTED a "Project Description Form for Expedited Permitting Review for the proposed Palm Beach County Biotechnology Research Park to be located on approximately 1,920 acres in northwestern Palm Beach County." A.R. 183-12.
Palm Beach County, the project's Master Developer, described the Research Park as a multiple use development plan for approximately 1,920 acres of property, with Scripps as its centerpiece. A.R. 166-65. The County touted Scripps' "proven business model" which includes "developing a biotech/pharma industry cluster that has led to the start up of more than 40 high-tech businesses." A.R. 169. The County described the benefits of economic clustering, which is the location of industries in a particular geographic area in order to take advantage of labor pools or to gain convenient access to highly specialized services that are present to service the needs of an anchor business, such as, in this case. Scripps. A.R. 168. The County anticipated that Scripps' success in developing a biotech/pharma industry cluster in San Diego County could be replicated in Palm Beach County, at an even faster pace than that which was the case in California. A.R. 169. Palm Beach County noted that biotechnology has been described as the first global "gold rush" of the 21st-century. A.R. 168.
In March 2004, the OTTED certified the Research Park Project for Florida's Expedited Permitting Process pursuant to Florida law. A.R. 188. The Army Corps of Engineers attended the pre-application meeting for all interested agencies and parties. A.R. 2683.
On May 10, 2004, Palm Beach County submitted an Application for Development Approval (ADA) for the Palm Beach County Biotechnology Research Park Development of Regional Impact (DRI) to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) pursuant to Florida law. A.R. 270-299. This comprehensive document addressed a number of projections related to the Research Park development over its 30-year build out schedule, including revenue, environmental resource impacts, transportation, human resource impacts (housing, police and fire rescue, recreation and open space, education, employment, health care, energy), airports, mining operations, schools and hospitals. A.R. 270-387; 489-792; 979-1046.
The County announced that "[t]he arrival of [Scripps] in Palm Beach County could prove to be as significant to South Florida's economy as the arrival of Henry Flagler's railroad a century ago." A.R. 330.
The State of Florida agreed to provide $310 million of economic stimulus funds over a period of seven years. Palm Beach County pledged to spend up to $200 million to provide land, infrastructure and buildings for the new Scripps Florida facility, paying $60 million for the 1,919 Mecca Farms site. A.R. 351. While the Scripps facility would occupy 102.03 acres, other portions of the property would be used to enhance surrounding ecosystems, meet water management goals, and buffer nearby residential properties. A.R. 351. The remaining property would be made available to other biotech-related companies and support facilities, "enabling the County to recover costs associated with the project." A.R. 351.
Mecca Farms was historically part of the Hungryland Slough, and predominately wetland. A.R. 2686. Located in Palm Beach County, Mecca Farms is bordered to the west by the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, to the north by Hungryland Slough and active orange groves, to the east by undeveloped private land, and to the south by an active orange grove and residential development. A.R. 2686. Unit 11 Hungryland Slough and the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Park are preserved as conservation/ environmentally sensitive lands. A.R. 2633.
The July 1999 Loxahatchee River Basin Wetland Planning Project for Palm Beach County stated that the Vavrus Ranch (to the east of Mecca Farms) is one of the largest areas containing wetlands...
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