National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife
National Assn. of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife | |
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Holding | |
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Alito, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
Dissent | Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
Laws applied | |
Endangered Species Act |
National Assn. of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644 (2007), was a
Facts
The Clean Water Act instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to turn over authority under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System to a state if that state's proposal meets nine listed criteria. Arizona issued such a proposal. The EPA regional office replied with the concern that the transfer might violate the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits agencies from taking actions that might jeopardize endangered species. The EPA consulted the Fish and Wildlife Service, which advised that the Endangered Species Act was inapplicable because the EPA had no authority to consider additional factors beyond the nine Clean Water Act criteria. On the advice of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the EPA approved the transfer of authority to Arizona.
Procedural history
The
Decision
Issues
- Can a court require that state-run Clean Water Act pollution permitting programs include protections for endangered species?
- Does the Endangered Species Act constitute an independent source of authority for federal agencies?
- Is the EPA's approval of a state permitting program the legally relevant cause of impacts to endangered species resulting from future private land use activities?
- Was the Court of Appeals correct that the EPA's decision to transfer pollution-permitting authority to Arizona under the Clean Water Act was arbitrary and capricious because it was based on inconsistent interpretations of the Endangered Species Act? If so, should the Court of Appeals have sent the case back to the EPA for further proceedings without ruling on the interpretation of the Endangered Species Act?
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court, written by Justice Alito, held that the EPA's decision was not arbitrary and capricious, even if internally inconsistent. "The federal courts ordinarily are empowered to review only an agency’s final action," Alito wrote, "and the fact that a preliminary determination by a local agency representative is later overruled at a higher level within the agency does not render the decisionmaking process arbitrary and capricious." The Court also agreed that because the decision was not discretionary, the Endangered Species Act did not apply.
Stevens's dissent
Justice
Breyer's dissent
Justice Breyer joined in Stevens's dissent, but differed in reserving judgment "as to whether §7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ... really covers every possible agency action even of totally unrelated agencies...."
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 551
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
Notes
External links
- Text of National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644 (2007) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived)