National Wildlife Federation v. Department of Transportation, Secretary of
Filing
46
ORDER Denying Without Prejudice Plaintiff's Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 31 ) and Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 37 ) and Regarding Further Proceedings. Memorandum due by 3/16/2017. Signed by District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith. (Sandusky, K)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
NATIONAL WILDLIFE
FEDERATION,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Civil Action No. 15-CV-13535
HON. MARK A. GOLDSMITH
SECRETARY OF THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION,
Defendant.
_______________________________/
ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S RENEWED
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Dkt. 31) AND DEFENDANT’S CROSSMOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Dkt. 37) AND REGARDING FURTHER
PROCEEDINGS
On June 22, 2016, Plaintiff National Wildlife Federation (“NWF”) submitted a renewed
motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 31), in which it argued that Defendant Secretary of the United
States Department of Transportation (“the Secretary”) has been unlawfully withholding or
unreasonably delaying his nondiscretionary duty to personally review spill response plans for
inland offshore facilities pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act (“OPA”), 33 U.S.C. § 2701, et seq., and
Executive Order 12,777. In its motion, NWF noted that this duty has instead been carried out by
an agency within the Department of Transportation, the Research and Special Projects
Administration (“RSPA”), and RSPA’s successor, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (“PHMSA”). NWF also argued that RSPA and PHMSA exceeded their authority
in utilizing onshore regulations to evaluate the water segments of pipelines traversing both land
and water, as the water segments in NWF’s view are offshore facilities.
On August 17, 2016, while NWF’s motion was pending, the Secretary ratified all prior
approvals of spill response plans by RSPA and PHMSA and delegated the responsibility to review
future plans for offshore facilities to PHMSA. See Letter from Sec’y, Ex. B. to Def. Mot. at 1
(Dkt. 37-3). The Secretary filed his cross-motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 37) five days later.
In his motion, the Secretary argued, among other things, that his ratification rendered moot NWF’s
claim that he has failed to personally review spill response plans for offshore facilities. He also
argued that use of onshore regulations was appropriate, even for those segments of a pipeline that
traversed water.
In its response (Dkt. 41), NWF contends that the Secretary’s ratification “does nothing to
cure his failure” to carry out his duties. Pl. Resp. at 11. NWF argues that because RSPA’s and
PHMSA’s approvals of the spill response plans were based on a determination that the plans met
the requirements of PHMSA’s regulations for onshore facilities, 49 C.F.R. § 194.1, et seq., instead
of the requirements of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1321, “[t]he Secretary’s
ratification of PHMSA’s approvals . . . does not cure his failure to determine that plans for offshore
pipelines satisfy the requirements of the CWA.” Pl. Resp. at 12.
As the Secretary notes in his reply to NWF’s response (Dkt. 43), it seems that NWF has
shifted its position in light of the Secretary’s ratification. While NWF argued in its opening brief
that the failure of the Secretary was his lack of personal review of the spill response plans and the
use of onshore regulations for what NWF claimed were offshore facilities, its new theory is
premised on the determination by PHMSA, later ratified by the Secretary, that the response plans
complied with the regulations, rather than with the CWA. That specific theory was not previously
asserted, and its late insertion into the briefing process has resulted in incomplete and disjointed
briefing on some issues. Further, it is unclear whether NWF is abandoning its theory of lack of
personal review.
All of this leads the Court to conclude that it would not be prudent to decide the issues
raised in the pending motions with the current state of the briefing. As a result, the Court denies
without prejudice NWF’s renewed motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 31) and the Secretary’s
cross-motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 37).
To properly frame the issues for renewed dispositive motion practice, NWF must file a
memorandum, not exceeding three pages, clarifying its theories and the specific manner in which
NWF alleges that the Secretary failed to perform, or unreasonably delayed in performing, his
statutory duties. The memorandum is due by March 16, 2017, and should not address any legal
issues raised in the current briefing, such as standing or mootness. After reviewing NWF’s
memorandum, the Court will determine how to proceed with dispositive motion practice and issue
an order regarding same.
SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 2, 2017
Detroit, Michigan
s/Mark A. Goldsmith
MARK A. GOLDSMITH
United States District Judge
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned certifies that the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record and any
unrepresented parties via the Court's ECF System to their respective email or First Class U.S. mail
addresses disclosed on the Notice of Electronic Filing on March 2, 2017.
s/Karri Sandusky
Case Manager
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