Idaho Farm Bureau Federation v. Babbitt
| Decision Date | 31 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-0267-S-LMB.,93-0267-S-LMB. |
| Citation | 900 F. Supp. 1349 |
| Parties | IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION, a non-profit corporation, and American Farm Bureau Federation, a non-profit corporation, Plaintiffs, v. Bruce BABBITT, Secretary of Interior; John F. Turner, Director, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Robert N. Smith, as Acting Director of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Charles Lobdell, Director, Boise Field Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; and United States of America, Defendants, and Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, and The Committee for Idaho's High Desert, Intervenors. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Gary D. Babbitt, Brad P. Miller, Boise, ID, for Plaintiff.
John L. Marshall, U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC, Laird J. Lucas, Boise, ID, D. Marc Haws, Asst. United States Attorney, Boise, ID, for Defendant.
Currently pending before the Court are Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 46); the Federal Defendants' Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 53); the Federal Defendants' Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Affidavits Filed in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 71); Plaintiff Farm Bureau's Motion to Strike Frest and Hershler Affidavits (Docket No. 80); and the Federal Defendants' Motion to Enlarge Time to Respond to Plaintiffs' Supplemental Briefing (Docket No. 115).
The Court held a hearing on the cross-motions for summary judgment after which Plaintiffs were allowed to submit supplemental affidavits on the limited issue of standing, and both parties were allowed to file postargument briefs. Those materials have since been filed, and the matter has been fully argued, briefed and submitted to the Court for its consideration.
Having carefully reviewed the record, considered oral arguments, and otherwise being fully advised, the Court enters the following Memorandum Decision and Order.
On July 14, 1993, Plaintiffs Idaho Farm Bureau ("IFB") and American Farm Bureau Federation ("AFBF"), non-profit organizations representing the agricultural interests of farmers and ranchers across Idaho and the United States, filed this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, and other federal agencies and officers (hereinafter referred to as the "Federal Defendants"). On October 7, 1994, Plaintiffs amended their complaint, alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. § 1531, et seq., the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 551, et seq., and the Federal Advisory Committee Act ("FACA"), 5 U.S.C.App. 2, with respect to final listing by the Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") of four species of Snake River mollusks as endangered and one as threatened.
On January 1, 1994, the Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United and the Committee for Idaho's High Desert ("Intervenors"), non-profit environmental organizations, moved to intervene, which motion was granted by Order of the District Court on February 22, 1994 (Docket No. 20). The action is now properly before this Court for final determination.
As a preliminary observation, and as the District Court held on two prior occasions in this instant action, the proceeding is an administrative review of the actions and decisions of the FWS and is limited to the record before the agency, except on the legal issue of standing. Consequently, the parties seek to resolve this action as a matter of law on their respective cross-motions for summary judgment.
The facts pertinent to these proceedings are noteworthy and will be briefly summarized. On December 18, 1990, the FWS published a proposed rule under the ESA to determine the status of five species of mollusks found only in isolated segments of the Snake River and adjacent springs as endangered or threatened under the ESA, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-44. The five mollusks in question are the Idaho springsnail, the Utah valvata snail, the Snake River Physa snail, the Branbury Springs lanx, and the Bliss Rapids snail. This proposed listing was based on a number of scientific studies of the mollusks in question and their habitat, and concluded that the habitat was restricted to small portions of their historic range.
Public hearings on the proposal were held from late 1990 to the spring of 1991, during which the FWS received extensive public comment, including comments from some of the parties to this action. The comment period was opened a final time on October 31, 1991. Because there was extensive public interest relating to the issue of the listing of the mollusks, the FWS decided to have Dr. C. Michael Falter, a professor at the University of Idaho, review, summarize, and analyze the available information on the mollusks. To aid in his review, Dr. Falter invited a panel of technical personnel, as requested by the FWS, to meet on October 21-22, 1991 to help him with the project.
Dr. Falter's technical review panel was comprised of both disinterested, neutral scientists and also those who were considered "opponents" and "proponents" of the proposed listing. For example, Dr. Richard Konopacky attended the panel as a representative of Plaintiffs, while Drs. Terrence Frest and Peter Bowler attended as proponents of the listing. Other scientists were also invited to attend and participate with the panel. The panel was convened on October 21-22, 1991 as scheduled, but not all invitees were in attendance. After leading the group through a discussion of the relevant scientific information regarding the mollusks, Dr. Falter prepared a summary of the proceedings and, on November 22, 1991, sent a draft to all of the invited participants.
Dr. Falter solicited and received comments on the draft summary from those who attended the panel meetings, as well as those who did not attend. Although the technical "comment period" had passed, Dr. Falter incorporated many of these comments into another draft summary and, on February 14, 1992, circulated the revised draft to all invitees for further comment. Again, the experts submitted additional comments, many of which Dr. Falter included in his final report submitted to the FWS on or about March 26, 1992.
The FWS published its final decision on December 14, 1992 to list four mollusks as endangered, and one as threatened. In their Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that this listing is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, that it is not based on the best available scientific data as required by the ESA, and that the listing violates various procedural requirements set forth in the ESA, the APA, and the FACA. In essence, Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief and an injunction "de-listing" the mollusks as endangered and threatened.
The Court has carefully reviewed the various memoranda filed by the parties, the cases cited therein, the arguments of counsel at the hearing, the several affidavits on the issue of standing, and the extensive fourteen volume administrative record on file. The issues are now ripe for decision.
In their motion for summary judgment, Plaintiffs assert that they are entitled to summary judgment on the grounds that the FWS violated the FACA by improperly creating and administering the scientific review panel, and particularly by accepting comments from third parties outside the comment period; that the Federal Defendants did not timely list the five snails within the one year time limit after publishing notice of the proposed listing;1 that the Federal Defendants failed to provide proper notice of the proposed listing to the affected counties; and that the listing is arbitrary and capricious because it violated the ESA's "best available scientific data" mandate.
In its cross-motion for summary judgment, the Federal Defendants argue that Plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the listing under the ESA and APA, that laches bars Plaintiffs' FACA claim, and that injunctive relief invalidating the listing under the FACA is inappropriate.
Because the Federal Defendants' motion challenging Plaintiffs' standing to bring their ESA and APA claims goes directly to the Court's subject matter jurisdiction, and may be dispositive of the entire proceeding, the Court will first determine whether Plaintiffs have standing to bring this action.
Motions for summary judgment are governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 56 provides, in pertinent part, that judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that under Rule 56, summary judgment is required if the nonmoving party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element which is essential to his case and upon which he will bear the burden of proof at trial. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the nonmoving party fails to make such a showing on any essential element of his case, "there can be `no genuine issue as to any material fact,' since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2552.2
Under Rule 56 it is clear that an issue, in order to preclude entry of summary judgment, must be both "material" and "genuine." An issue is "material" if it affects the outcome of the litigation. An issue is "genuine" when there is "sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute ... to require a jury...
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