Pioneer Aggregates, Inc. et al v. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection et al
Filing
36
MEMORANDUM AND OPINION - For the reasons set forth in this Memorandum Opinion, Plaintiffs' Complaint will be dismissed with prejudice. Aseparate Order will follow.Signed by Honorable Robert D. Mariani on 9/21/12. (jfg)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
PIONEER AGGREGATES, Inc., and
THE FAMOUS BRANDS, Inc.,
dlbla SIMPSON SOLUTIONS
Plaintiffs
3:11·cy·00325
Y.
(JUDGE MARIANI)
THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
et al.
Defendants
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Presently before the Court is a motion to dismiss Counts I through VII of Plaintiffs'
Complaint (Doc. 9) filed by Defendants Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection ("PADEp
lt
),
John Hanger, Keith Brady, Thomas Callaghan, Nathan Houtz,
Michael Menghini and Michael Kutney (collectively "Defendants") pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1)
and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to
state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiffs Pioneer Aggregates, Inc.
("Pioneer") and The Famous Brands, Inc., d/b/a Simpson Solutions' (collectively "Plaintiffs"),
allege multiple violations of their Constitutional rights as well as violations of various state
and federal statutes and seek damages, attorney's fees, costs, and declaratory relief.
JURISDICTION
This matter is properly before the Court based upon federal question jurisdiction
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
BACKGROUND
The Court will accept as true all of the well-pleaded facts in Plaintiffs' Complaint,
drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiffs as the non-moving parties. The
pertinent facts are as follows:
Since 1991, Pioneer has operated a noncoal quarry mine in Laflin, Pennsylvania
where it produces crushed stone-type material. (Pis.' Compl. at 1m 85-86.) As part of its
mining activities, Pioneer is required to obtain various permits from the PADEP and/or its
Bureau of Mining. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 12.) In 2007, the Bureau of Mining issued Pioneer a
revised permit to change its existing Surface Mining Permit ("SMP") to a noncoal permit with
an option for reclamation of the mine utilizing clean fill on the condition that such clean fill
follow the Bureau of Mining guidelines ("Clean Fill Approval Condition"), (Pis.' Compl. at mr
87-89.)
Operating under ajOint venture with Simpson Solutions ("Simpson"), Pioneer and
Simpson spent substantial sums to identify, secure, transport, and accept clean fill in
anticipation of reclaiming the Laflin facility. (Pis.' Compl. at mr 94 and 97.) Sometime prior
to September 2008, Pioneer and Simpson identified the Manhattan-based Willis Avenue
Bridge Project ("WABP") as a source for clean fill on "an enormous scale." (Pis.' Compl. at
2
mr 98 and 99.)
In preparation for submitting aminor SMP revision application ("Source
Approval Request") with the Bureau of Mining, Pioneer began testing on the proposed
WABP fill to demonstrate that it constituted "clean fill" pursuant to the Clean Fill Approval
Condition. (Pis.' Compl. at mr 100 and 103.)
Pioneer submitted its Source Approval Request including the analytical data and test
results from the WABP fill which allegedly demonstrated that the fill was clean and thus
appropriate for mining reclamation. (Pis.' Compl. at ~ 105.) In doing so, Pioneer relied on
the requirements of the Bureau of Waste's "Waste Clean Fill" policy because it was the only
PADEP clean fill definition Pioneer knew existed. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 104.) Under this
policy, users of clean fill need to file acertification that the material has been determined to
be "clean fill" and retain documentation of test results demonstrating the fill is clean, if
testing was required. (Pis.' Compl. at ~ 73.)
Defendants' asserted standard for determining whether material constitutes "clean
fill" is different and documented in Draft Technical Guidance No. 563-2000-301, titled, "Use
of Mine Reclamation Clean Fill at Active Mine Sites" ("Mining Clean Fill Standard"). (Pis.'
Compl. at ~ 41.) The Mining Clean Fill Standard defines "clean fill" as:
Uncontaminated, non-water soluble, non-decomposable inert solid material
obtained from an off-site source and used by the operator as fill material
when performing reclamation at an active mine site .... "Uncontaminated,"
as used here, means that the fill material does not contain regulated
substances in concentrations exceeding the concentration levels specified in
Tables 1and 2 ... (Pis.' Compl. at 11 43.)
3
Also included within the document are parameters and requirements whose application is
contingent on whether the clean fill sought is for incidental mine reclamation or standard
mine reclamation. For example, "'Incidental Mine Reclamation Clean Fill' may not originate
from an out-of-state source because of PADEP's limited ability to inspect and evaluate out
of-state areas" while "Standard Mine Reclamation Fill" may only use materials listed as
acceptable and depends on whether the fill is placed "above the groundwater table or below
the groundwater table."1 (Pis.' Compl. at ~ 44.)
Plaintiffs assert that the Mining Clean Fill standard has never been promulgated and
approved as a regulation nor has it ever been submitted to the Legislative Reference
Bureau for 'filing and publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and Pennsylvania Code. (Pis.'
Compl. at ~ 45 and 46.) Furthermore, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants rely upon the
Mining Clean Fill standard when granting or denying permit applications despite the fact that
it has never been developed, approved, and/or distributed pursuant to PADEP's Policy for
Development and Publication of Technical Guidance. (PiS.' Compl. at ~ 47 and 48.)
After determining that Pioneer's Source Approval Request was complete,
Environmental Group Manager Nathan Houtz assigned it to permit reviewer Michael Kutney
for review. (Pis.' Compl. at 1f 106.) On November 26,2008, Kutney sent Pioneer a letter
that identified purported "technical deficiencies" in Pioneer's request and asked Pioneer to
1
Plaintiffs admit that the incidental clean fill typically means "750 tons/year or less of clean fill material"
and therefore does not apply to Plaintiffs' Source Approval Request because the request sought more than 750
tons. (Pis: Memo. Of law in Opp. To Defs.' Mot. To Dismiss at 5 n. 4.)
4
provide additional information including lipID readings" and a map showing locations and
II
depths for each individual grab sample." (Pis.' Compl. at 1Ml111-113.) Kutney later
admitted that he was unsure whether this information was required by the Mining Clean Fill
standard. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 114.) Sometime thereafter, PADEP's Kutney, Houtz, and
Thomas Callahan reviewed the Source Approval Request and decided that it should be
denied. (Pis.' Compl. at 1Ml119 and 120.) Houtz notified Pioneer about its denial in a letter
stating that the soil and groundwater at the WABP was "extensively contaminated with
metals and petroleum hydrocarbons" and there was no way to prove with any real certainty
that the fill was uncontaminated. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 122.)
Pioneer submitted additional reports to Defendants reflecting that the WABP clean fill
complied even with the non-binding draft standard. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 135.) Plaintiffs assert
that the WABP fill was clean by the Mining Clean Fill standard and that Defendants based
their decision not on the WABP 'fill, but on material near the fill site as having possibly
contaminated the WABP fill. (Pis.' Compl. at1Ml126 and 129.)
On March 23, 2009, Pioneer timely appealed Defendants' decision denying
Pioneer's Source Approval Request to the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.
(Pis.' Compl. at 11 137.) At a September 9,2009 meeting to discuss Pioneer's Source
Approval Request, Defendants stated they were not comfortable approving the WABP as a
clean fill source because Defendants were not gOing to approve anything that they could not
physically inspect. (Pis.' Compl. at 11 140 and 142.)
5
By April 26, 2010, an inactive mine in Coplay, Pennsylvania applied to the PADEP
Bureau of Waste to have the WABP fill placed in their mine. (Pis.' CampI. at
n 144 and
148.) As part of the approval process, the Coplay Facility submitted a request for approval
of the WABP to the Bureau of Waste, which determined that the material met the Waste
Clean Fill policy's definition of "clean fill," and thus approved the request. (Pis.' CampI. at 1f
148.) Pioneer ceased its appeal when it learned that the WABP fill that was the subject of
Pioneer's Source Approval Request was placed in the Coplay Facility and was no longer
available. (Pis.' CampI. at 1f 144.)
STANDARD
This matter is presented to the district court as amotion to dismiss. In light of the
Supreme Court's decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 433 (2007), and
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009), the Middle District of Pennsylvania has adopted
the following standard by which to treat motions to dismiss. "[T]o survive a motion to
dismiss, acomplaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true to 'state a claim
that relief is plausible on its face." Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at
570). In Iqbal, the Court emphasized that "only a complaint that states a plausible claim for
relief survives a motion to dismiss." Id. at 1950. Furthermore, "[d]etermining whether a
complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the
reViewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Id. (citation omitted);
McTernan v. City of York, 577 F.3d 521, 530 (3d Cir. 2009).
6
District courts confronted by a motion to dismiss should engage in a two-step
analysis. First, the district court should accept all well-pleaded facts as true, but may reject
mere legal conclusions. Second, the district court should then determine whether the facts,
as asserted, establish a "plausible claim for relief." Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950. Thus, a
complaint must "show" an entitlement to relief with facts, as a mere allegation that a plaintiff
is entitled to relief is insufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. See Philips v. Co. of
Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 234-35 (3d Cir. 2008). As the Supreme Court instructed in Iqbal,
"[w]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere
possibility of misconduct the complaint has alleged - but it has not 'show[n]' - that the
pleader is entitled to relief." Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949.
DISCUSSION
Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 9) is predicated upon several questions of law,
which, in light of the allegations of Plaintiffs' Complaint, must be accepted as true for
purposes of determining its legal sufficiency, thus rendering the matter ripe for disposition.
Accordingly, the Court's analysis proceeds upon matters of Constitutional rights as well as
various state and federal statutes.
I. ELEVENTH AMENDMENT IMMUNITY
Defendants claim that both the PADEP and the individually named defendants are
immune from suit in their official and personal capacities and that Plaintiffs' Complaint
should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. (Defs.' Mem. Of Law in Support of Mot. To
7
Dismiss at 3.} Plaintiffs argue that the state officials named in the Complaint are not
immune from suit in their official and personal capacities.
The Eleventh Amendment bars suits in federal court against states and state
agencies. See Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho, 521 U.S. 261 (1997). "[A] suit
against astate official in his or her official capacity is not asuit against the official but rather
is asuit against the official's office. As such, it is no different from a suit against the State
itself." McCauley v. Univ. of the Virgin Islands, 618 F.3d 232,241 (3d Cir. 2010) (citing Will
v. Mich. Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989))
(internal citations and quotation marks omitted). The Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection is an agency of the Commonwealth. See Act of April 9, 1929, P.L.
177, art. II, § 201, as amended, 71 P.S. § 61; Oley Twp. v. Delaware River Basin Comm'n,
906 F. Supp. 284, 286 (E.D. Pa. 1995) (finding that PADEP is an agency ofthe
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania).
There are three exceptions to Eleventh Amendment immunity. First, Congress may
abrogate Eleventh Amendment immunity by expressing its "unequivocal" intent to abrogate
pursuant to a "valid exercise of power." Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44,
55, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996). Second, states may waive their sovereign
immunity and consent to be sued. See M&M Stone Co. v. Pa. Dep't of Envtl. Prot., No. 07
4784,2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76050, at *43 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 29, 2008) (citing Alden v. Maine,
527 U.S. 706, 755 (1999)). Pennsylvania has not waived its sovereign immunity. 42 Pa.
8
C.S.A. § 8521(b); 1 Pa. C.S.A. § 2310. Finally, there is the Ex parte Young doctrine which
allows suits against individual state officers for declaratory and prospective injunctive relief
to remedy ongoing violations of federal law. 209 U.S. 123,28 S.Ct. 441,52 L.Ed. 714
(1908). However, the Third Circuit has expressly stated that Ex parte Young does not apply
where the targeted subject of a petition for prospective injunctive relief is the government
itself, but rather it narrowly applies to the individually named government agents. See
Koslow v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 302 F.3d 161, 178 (3d Cir. 2002) (Eleventh
Amendment "has not been interpreted to bar a plaintiffs ability to seek prospective relief
against state officials for violations of federal law"); Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's
Clubs, Inc. v. Hess, 297 F.3d 310,325 (3d Cir. 2002) (finding that individuals working for the
Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation enjoyed sovereign immunity).
Since Defendant PADEP is astate agency and has not waived its sovereign
immunity, none of Plaintiffs' claims against Defendant PADEP can proceed in federal court.
Accordingly, Plaintiffs' claims against Defendant PADEP must be dismissed.
This same sovereign immunity extends to all other DEP defendants in their official
capacities with respect to Plaintiffs' claims for damages. However, to the extent that
Plaintiffs seek prospective injunctive relief, Plaintiffs' federal claims against Defendant
PADEP's state officials in their individual capacities may proceed. See Ex Parte Young,
supra, at 166; Koslow, supra, at 179.
9
II. CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIMS AGAINST INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS
PURSUANT TO 42 U.S.C. §1983
Plaintiffs' Complaint asserts four constitutional claims against Defendants: (1)
violations of substantive due process, (2) violations of procedural due process, (3) violations
of equal protection requirements, and (4) a violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause of
the Constitution. These constitutional claims are actionable against the individually named
Defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. However, Defendants have challenged each of
Plaintiffs' constitutional claims as being insufficiently pleaded in order to survive a challenge
under Rule 12(b)(6). The individually named Defendants also assert that they are entitled to
qualified immunity.
Section 1983 is an enabling statute that provides a remedy for the violation of federal
constitutional or statutory rights. Section 1983 states:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom,
or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or
causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within
the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities
secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an
action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Thus, to state a claim under Section 1983, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the
defendant, acting under color of state law, deprived the plaintiff of a right secured by the
Constitution or the laws of the United States. See Parratt v. Taylor,451 U.S. 527, 535
(1986); Chainey v. Street, 523 F.3d 200, 219 (3d Cir. 2008) (quoting Kaucher v. County of
10
Bucks, 455 F.3d 418,423 (3d Cir. 2006)). Furthermore, to face liability under Section 1983,
adefendant must have "exercised power possessed by virtue of state law and made
possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law."
Bonenberger v. Plymouth Twp., 132 F.3d 20,23 (3d Cir. 1997) (internal citations and
quotations omitted).
Section 1983 "is not itself a source of substantive rights, but a method for vindicating
federal rights elsewhere conferred ...." Phillips v. Northwest Reg'l Commc'ns, 391 F. App'x
160, 165 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 145 n.3 (1979)). Under
Section 1983, Plaintiffs can allege violations of federal and constitutional law, but Section
1983 cannot provide a cause of action not founded on substantive federal or constitutional
law. Accordingly, the Court must now inquire as to whether Plaintiffs have sufficiently
alleged that Defendants deprived them of any of the constitutional rights asserted in
Plaintiffs' Complaint.
At the outset, Defendants assert that Hanger, Callaghan, Menghini, Brady, Houtz
and Kutney, in their individual capacities, are entitled to qualified immunity.
"The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials 'from liability for civil
damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or
constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.'" Pearson v.
Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009)(quoting Harlow v.
Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818,102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). Quali'fied immunity
11
serves the dual purpose of holding government officials accountable when their power is
exercised unreasonably and protecting those officials from "harassment, distraction, and
liability when they perform their duties reasonably." See id. "Qualified immunity applies
regardless of whether the government official's error is 'a mistake of law, a mistake of fact,
or amistake based on mixed questions of law and fact.'" ld. (citing Groh v. Ramirez, 540
U.S. 551, 567, 124 S.Ct. 1284, 157 L.Ed.2d 1068 (2004) (Kennedy, J., dissenting)).
Qualified immunity is "an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability ..
. it is effectively lost if a case is erroneously permitted to go to triaL" Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472
U.S. 511, 526,105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985)(emphasis deleted). The qualified
immunity doctrine serves to eliminate "insubstantial claims" prior to discovery. Pearson, 555
U.S. at 231 (citing Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 n. 2, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97
L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)). The Supreme Court has "stressed the importance of resolving
immunity questions at the earliest possible stages in litigation." Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S.
224,227, 112 S.Ct. 534,116 L.Ed.2d 589 (1991) (per curiam).
In Saucierv. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 121 S.Ct. 2151,150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001), the
Supreme Court articulated a two-step test to determine the appropriate application of
qualified immunity. A court must decide: (1) whether the facts alleged by the plaintiff violate
a constitutional right; and (2) if so, whether that right was "clearly established" at the time of
the alleged violation. ld. at 201. Qualified immunity attaches unless the official's conduct
violated such a clearly established right. Anderson, 483 U.S. at 640. However, the Saucier
12
procedure, which erected a rigid framework, no longer mandates that district courts decide
the two prongs in any particular order. Pearson, 555 U.S. at 236. The decision is left to the
discretion of the district court. Id.
The Third Circuit has held that a right is "clearly established" when the "contours of
the right are 'sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is
doing violates that right.'" McGreevy v. Stroup, 413 F.3d 359, 366 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting
Saucier, 533 U.S. at 202). For a right to be "clearly established," it does not require that
"the very action in question has previously been held unlawful," Id. (quoting Hope v. Pelzer,
536 U.S. 730, 739, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002)); rather it means that in the
context of preexisting law, "the unlawfulness of the official's conduct was reasonably and
objectively apparent." McGreevey, 413 F.3d at 366 (citing Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603,
615,119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999)). The "salient question" is "whether the state
of law [at the time of the incident] gave respondents fair warning" that their actions were
contrary to the law. See Hope, 536 U.S. at 741. For the reasons discussed below in which
the Court addresses the substantive issues raised by Plaintiffs, it is apparent that such fair
warning is absent in the present case and that Defendants did not violate any clearly
established right. In fact, the Court finds that Plaintiffs' Complaint fails to assert any
violation of an established constitutional or statutory right even when granting Plaintiffs
every inference in their favor pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Accordingly, the individual
13
Defendants shall be entitled to qualified immunity for their actions as presented in Plaintiffs'
Complaint.
A. Dismissal of Defendant PADEP Secretary John Hanger
Defendants argue that former DEP Secretary John Hanger must be dismissed as a
defendant in this suit because Plaintiffs' Complaint bases its Section 1983 claim against Mr.
Hanger on the basis of respondeat superior liability. (Defs: Memo. of Law in Support of
Mot. To Dismiss at 4.) Plaintiffs argue that the Mining Clean Fill standard was used for over
'fifteen years and therefore the Complaint raises a reasonable inference that former
Secretary Hanger knew and acquiesced to the alleged conduct and can be held personally
liable. (Pis: Memo. Of Law in Opp. To Defs: Mot. To Dismiss at 3.)
In order for a plaintiff to state a claim against adefendant under Section 1983, the
individual government defendant must have personal involvement in the alleged
wrongdoing. Liability cannot be predicated solely on the operation of respondeat superior.
See Rode v. Dellarciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1207 (3d Cir. 1988). A plaintiff may show
personal involvement "through allegations of personal direction or of actual knowledge and
acquiescence." Rode, 845 F.2d at 1207.
Plaintiffs' Complaint does not allege any specific instances where Mr. Hanger had
personally directed any of the other defendants, or that he had any actual knowledge and
acquiesced to any specific action. His name is only mentioned three times in the Complaint:
in the caption, in paragraph 5 where he is identified as DEP Secretary, and in paragraph
14
203 where he is alleged to be a state actor. (Defs: Rep. Brief in Support of Mot. To Dismiss
at 6.) As such, Mr. Hanger must be dismissed as a defendant, since there are insufficient
allegations of personal action, conduct, or wrongdoing against him or actual knowledge or
acquiescence in the matters complained of.
B. Due Process
The Court turns its attention to issues of constitutional due process violations. In
Counts I and IV respectively, Plaintiffs assert that Defendants violated both the substantive
and procedural components of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause when
they arbitrarily, capriciously, and/or improperly denied its Source Approval Request and by
its failure to adhere to constitutionally adequate procedural requirements. (Pis.' Compl. at
1m 164 and 201.)
1. Substantive Due Process
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall
"deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Nicholas v.
Pennsylvania State Univ., 227 F.3d 133, 138 (3d Cir. 2000). While this constitutional
provision was initially intended to address the suitability of state procedures, the Supreme
Court has held that this clause also has a substantive component. See, e.g., Planned
Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 877 (1992) (holding that portions of the Pennsylvania
Abortion Control Act violated substantive due process of plaintiffs by placing an "undue
burden" on awoman's right to choose to terminate her pregnancy).
15
The Third Circuit has held that the "fabric of substantive due process, as woven by
our courts, encompasses at least two very different threads." Nicholas, 227 F.3d at 139.
The first "thread" of substantive due process applies to legislative acts. Koorn v. Lacey
Twp., 78 F. App'x 199, 202 (3d Cir. 2003). A legislative act is, "generally[,] laws and broad
executive regulations" which "apply to large segments of society" -- as distinguished from a
non-legislative, or executive act, which "typically applies to one person or to a limited
number of persons." Nicholas, 227 F.3d at 139 n. 1. A legislative act that limits a
fundamental right will survive a substantive due process challenge only if it is necessary to
promote acompelling governmental interest. Id. at 139. When a fundamental right is not at
stake, a law must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest in order to survive
a substantive due process challenge. Koorn, 28 F. App'x at 202.
The second "thread" of substantive due process jurisprudence analyzes "non
legislative," or executive, government actions. Id. In order to state a claim for a non
legislative violation of substantive due process, a plaintiff must allege: (1) that he was
deprived of a fundamental right, and (2) that the government conduct at issue was "so
egregious, so outrageous, that it may fairly be said to shock the contemporary conscience."
See Kaucher v. Cnty. of Bucks, 455 F.3d 418, 425 (3d Cir.2006) (quoting Cnty. of
Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 847 (1998)). The Third Circuit has stated that if the
property interest being deprived is determined to be "fundamental" under the Constitution,
then substantive due process protects the plaintiff from arbitrary or irrational deprivation,
16
regardless of the adequacy of procedures used. See Nicholas, 227 F.3d at 142. However,
if the interest is not "fundamental," no substantive due process protection exists so long as
the state satisfies the requirements of procedural due process. Id.
To summarize: when a plaintiff challenges the validity of a legislative act,
substantive due process typically demands that the act be rationally related to
some legitimate government purpose. In contrast, when a plaintiff challenges
a non-legislative state action (such as an adverse employment decision), we
must look, as a threshold matter, to whether the property interest being
deprived is "fundamental" under the Constitution. If it is, then substantive due
process protects the plaintiff from arbitrary or irrational deprivation, regardless
of the adequacy of procedures used. If the interest is not "fundamental,"
however, the governmental action is entirely outside the ambit of substantive
process and will be upheld so long as the state satisfies the requirements of
procedural due process.
Nicholas, 227 F.3d at 142.
The Third Circuit has provided three standards which can support a finding that
government action shocks the conscience: "(1) deliberate indifference; (2) gross negligence
or arbitrariness that indeed shocks the conscience; or (3) intent to cause harm." See
Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 241 (3d Cir. 2008) (citing Sanford v. Stiles,
456 F.3d 298, 306 (3d Cir. 2006)). The Third Circuit has also held that "where the state
actor had ample time for deliberation before engaging in the allegedly unconstitutional
conduct, the appropriate standard will be deliberate indifference." Sanford, 456 F.3d at 309
10. However, the Supreme Court has said that "shocking the conscience" is not a rigid
formula, holding that "[d]eliberate indifference that shocks in one environment may not be
so patently egregious in another, and our concern with preserving the constitutional
17
proportions of substantive due process demands an exact analysis of circumstances before
any abuse of power is condemned as conscience shocking." Lewis, 523 U.S. at 850.
Furthermore, the Third Circuit has held that "land-use decisions are matters of local
concern and such disputes should not be transformed into substantive due process claims
based only on allegations that government officials acted with 'improper' motives." United
Artists Theatre Circuit, Inc. v. Twp. of Warrington, 316 F.3d 392, 402 (3d Cir. 2003). There,
departing from the improper motives test for the "shocks the conscience" standard, the Third
Circuit imposed ademanding requirement if the "shocks the conscience" standard in landuse decisions is to be met. See United Artists, 316 F.3d at 400. Specifically, in order to
prevent the Court from "being cast in the role of a 'zoning board of appeals,'" a state actor's
conduct must encompass only the most egregious official conduct. Id. at 400 (quoting
County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 846 (1998) ("[t]he 'shocks the conscience'
standard encompasses 'only the most egregious official conduct"').
With regard to enforcement of DEP regulations, the Third Circuit has imposed a
heightened shocks the conscience" standard wherein the defendant's actions must "rise to
II
a level of self-dealing, corruption, bias against an ethnic group, or any additional activity that
I
!
!
I
I
;
~
may suggest conscience-shocking behavior." Angino v. Wagner, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
79216 at *47; 2009 WL 2859041 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 3, 2009) (citing Dotzel v. Ashbridge, 306 F.
I
i
,
App'x 798,801 (3d Cir. 2009); see also Chainey v. Street, 523 F.3d 200,219-220 (3d Cir.
\
~
18
2008)("merely alleging an improper motive is insufficient, even where the motive is
unrelated to the merits of the underlying decisionn)).
The Third Circuit has observed that substantive due process "is an area of law
famous for its controversy, and not known for its simplicity." DeBlasio v. Zoning Bd. of
Adjustment, 53 F.3d 592,598 (3d Cir. 1995) (internal quotation omitted). However, it is
clear that the first step in evaluating a due process claim is to identify the exact contours of
the underlying right a plaintiff claims was violated. Chainey v. Street, 523 F.3d 200, 219 (3d
Cir. 2008); see Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 302 (1993) ('finding that analysis "must begin
with a careful description of the asserted right"); Kaucher v. County of Bucks, 455 F.3d 418,
423 (3d Cir. 2006). In this case, Pioneer has asserted that it is entitled to substantive due
process protection in regard to property interests from both legislative and executive action.
a.) Do Plaintiffs have a "Fundamental Right"?
Initially, a review of the Complaint shows that Plaintiffs failed to allege that actions in
this case were legislative actions; indeed, their allegations are to the contrary. For instance,
Plaintiffs aver that the Mining Clean Fill standard "has never been promulgated and
approved as a regulation pursuant to formal rulemaking procedures. n (See Pis' Compl. at ~
45.) Plaintiffs further allege that the Mining Clean Fill standard "has never been submitted
to the Legislative Reference Bureau for filing and publication," and that it was not
"promulgated pursuant to Pennsylvania's formal rulemaking or policymaking procedures."
(See Pis' Compl. at 1m 46-47.) In fact, Plaintiffs repeatedly refer to the Mining Clean Fill
19
standard as a "draft." (See, e.g., Pis' CompI. at 1f 51.) Accordingly, the allegations in
Plaintiffs' Complaint admit that the Mining Clean Fill standard is a non-legislative, executive
action.
This Court will begin analysis of Plaintiffs' substantive due process claim by
determining the contours of their "fundamental right." Plaintiffs assert that numerous
protected constitutional rights have been violated by Defendants, including the right to the
use, control, and enjoyment of their real property and business, the right to contract, the
right to operate a business and engage in livelihood of one's choice free from interference,
and the right to obtain a permit required to perform operations that are central to the
continued viability of a particular business. (Pis.' Mem. of Law in Opp'n to Defs.' Mot. to
Dismiss 10.) We will examine each right in turn.
Plaintiffs' first contention, based on their asserted "right" to operate a business and
engage in the livelihood of one's choice, is misplaced. While "the liberty to pursue acalling
or occupation ... is secured by the Fourteenth Amendment," the Third Circuit held that same
liberty interest at issue is "not the right to aspecific job." See Piecknick v. Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, 36 F.3d 1250, 1259 (3d Cir. 1994)("[s]tate actions that exclude a person
from one particular job are not actionable in suits"). In Piecknick, the owner of a towing
company sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under Section 1983 on the grounds that
he and his company were deprived of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment when
a rival business was permitted to operate within atowing zone established by the state
20
police that was formerly serviced by Piecknick alone for several previous years. Piecknick
argued that this operating zone constituted a protectable property interest, and that a
competing towing company that serviced a neighboring zone could not be assigned to
receive calls for that area. The Third Circuit held that the state police's addition of another
towing operator to the roster responsible for responding to emergency calls in Piecknick's
zone was "not an unreasonable interference with Piecknick's right to pursue its chosen
occupation." Id. at 1261. In doing so, the Third Circuit applied the reasoning that "[s]tate
actions that exclude a person from one particular job are not actionable" under the Due
Process clause to support a similar conclusion in a non-employment context.
While the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause does include a Ugeneralized
due process right to choose one's field of private employment," the right is nevertheless
subject to adegree of government regulation. See Conn v. Gabbert, 526 U.S. 286, 291·92,
119 S.Ct. 1292, 143 L.Ed.2d 399 (1999)(execution of search warrant did not
unconstitutionally interfere with an attorney's "right to practice his profession"). Under this
legal standard, to survive a motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs must allege with sufficiency that
Defendants have prohibited Plaintiffs from all work in operating their mining business 2 or
that the challenged regulations are not rationally related to a legitimate state interest. See,
e.g., Latessa v. New Jersey Racing Comm'n, 113 F.3d 1313, 1318 (3d Cir. 1997) (affirming
grant of summary judgment where Plaintiff "failed to present any support for his contention
2
Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges that Pioneer is engaged in mining operations, and that they also engage in
ancillary activities related to mining, including the reclamation of land, (See Pis,' Compl. at ~~ 12-13,)
21
that due to his non-reappointment he was effectively banned from all work in his occupation
as a racing judge").
Here, Plaintiffs do not allege that they have been prohibited from operating their
mining business, nor have they adequately pleaded a deprivation of afundamental right
with regard to their ability to operate their mining business. Instead, Plaintiffs argue that
they have been prohibited from operating the reclamation aspect of their business because
of all the money they have lost investing in the WASP clean fill project. However, Plaintiffs
misconstrue this right. Defendants have not prohibited Plaintiffs from starting another
reclamation project, nor are Plaintiffs "effectively banned" from ever starting another
reclamation business. In fact, Plaintiffs still hold a Surface Mining Permit with the option to
reclaim the land at issue in this case. As such, they have failed to allege that they have a
constitutionally protected "fundamental" right to operate their business and pursue their
chosen occupation which Defendants have violated.
Plaintiffs also claim that they have the right to the use, control, and enjoyment of
their real property and business. The crux of Plaintiffs argument is that Defendants' Mining
Clean Fill standard, which applies to their SMP, unconstitutionally infringes upon their right
to use their land and operate their business in an unencumbered manner. To be clear, the
Third Circuit has stated that "ownership is a property interest worthy of substantive due
process protection." DeBlasio, 53 F.3d at 600; see Nicholas, 227 F.3d at 141 ("[W]e have so
far limited non-legislative substantive due process review to cases involving real property
22
ownership."); Wrench Transp. Sys., Inc. v. Bradley, 340 F. App'x 812,815 (3d Cir. 2009)
(finding that real property interests can be protected by substantive due process). This
circuit has also suggested that certain permits may implicate a fundamental right. See
M&M stone Co., 2008 WL 4467176, at *21 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 29, 2008) (recognizing that
zoning decisions, building permits, or other governmental permission required for some
intended use of land owned by the plaintiffs implicate the fundamental property interest in
the ownership of land); see also Indep. Enters., Inc. v. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Auth.,
103 F.3d 1165, 1179 1179 n. 12 (3d Cir. 1997)(recognizing that fundamental interests arise
in matters involving "zoning decisions, building permits, or [instances where] other
governmental permission required for some intended use of land" is required)).
However, while Plaintiffs are correct in that they have a constitutionally protected
"fundamental" right to use and operate their land and business, they do not have a
protected right to conduct some particular business operation or to obtain a specific land
use permit. See Piecknick, 36 F.3d at 1261-62 (there is a Fourteenth Amendment liberty to
pursue a calling or occupation, but not the right to engage in a specific business operation,
i.e., an exclusive towing contract in a particular area); Holt Cargo Sys., Inc.
V.
Delaware
River Port Auth., 20 F. Supp. 2d 803, 830 (E.D. Pa 1998) (acknowledging that property
ownership, and even a lease, are property interests worthy of substantive due process
protection, but limited the scope, holding that claims of lost customers, lost profits, loss of a
bid, and breach of a lease are not enough to establish a constitutional due process claim);
23
I
\
!
,
Phantom of E.Pennsylvania v. New Jersey State Police, Civ. A. No. 07-2748, 2008 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 38624 at *7 (ED. Pa. May 13, 2008) (Plaintiff must allege more to show a
constitutional injury than that it has lost unspeci'fied business where it still has the ability to
carry out its fundamental business operation). As the Third Circuit noted with regard to
contractual rights being afforded the status of protected property:
[T]wo general types of contract rights are recognized as property protected
under the Fourteenth Amendment: (1) where "the contract confers a protected
status, such as those characterized by a quality of either extreme
dependence in the case of welfare benefits, or permanence in the case of
tenure, or sometimes both, as frequently occurs in the case of social security
benefits"; or (2) where "the contract itself includes a provision that the state
entity can terminate the contract only for cause."
Linan-Faye Construction Co. v. Housing Auth. of the City of Camden, 49 F.3d 915, 932 (3d
Cir.1995) (quoting Unger v. Nat'l Residents Matching Program, 928 F.2d 1392, 1399 (3d
Cir.1991)). Here, Plaintiffs cannot point to any protected right by which they are entitled to
use the WABP fill at their reclamation site.
The question presented to this Court is whether Defendants' use of the Mining Clean
Fill standard to deny Plaintiffs' application for a permit to receive fill from the WABP, instead
of granting Plaintiffs' a permit based on Defendants' Bureau of Waste's fill requirements,
unconstitutionally infringes on Plaintiffs' right to continue to use and enjoy their private
property and continue to operate their business. In other words, does the Defendants' use
of the Mining Clean Fill standard impermissibly deprive Plaintiffs of a fundamental right
protected as a matter of constitutional substantive due process? We hold that it does not.
24
Unlike any of the cases that the Plaintiffs cite, no specific fundamental property
interest has actually been deprived. For example, in M&M Stone, the plaintiffs permit to
operate a stone quarry was revoked, rendering the company unable to continue to use their
property. See generally M&M Stone, No. 07-4784,2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76050 (E.D. Pa.
Sept. 29, 2008). In the case sub judice, Plaintiffs' surface mining permit has not been
revoked. In fact, they still hold their initial SMP with the option to reclaim the land. Further,
Plaintiffs allege only one instance in which clean fill was denied, and they remain free to
apply for any new clean fill options to reclaim the land. Plaintiffs' Complaint does not
indicate that Defendants have erected any absolute barrier to Plaintiffs mining or land
reclamation operations. Most significantly, long before the issues underlying this case
arose, Plaintiffs agreed as acondition of receiving a revised non-coal surface mining permit,
to abide by the Mining Clean Fill standards in any reclamation of their land. Accordingly,
Plaintiffs were not denied a constitutionally protected right with regard to their real property
and business interests, and explicitly consented to abide by the Mining Clean Fill standards
as acondition of receiving a revised non-coal surface mining permit.
b.) Do the Actions of Defendants {{Shock the Conscience?"
Even if this Court were to determine that Plaintiffs have a constitutionally protected
fundamental right, Defendants actions in denying Plaintiffs source approval request do not
"shock the conscience" under prevailing Third Circuit standards. Plaintiffs argue that
Defendants lacked the legal authority to regulate surface mining operations, particularly
25
reclamation. (Pis.' Compl. at ~ 166.) Further, Plaintiffs argue that this Court should apply
the deliberate indifference standard set out in Sanford v. Stiles. See Sanford v. Stiles, 456
F.3d 298, 306 (3d Cir. 2006).
In Sanford, the Third Circuit affirmed a district ruling granting summary judgment
against a mother of a student who committed suicide. Id. at 301. The decedent's mother
filed a Section 1983 claim against the student's school district and aguidance counselor for
infringing upon the student's substantive due process rights under a state-created danger
theory. See Sanford, 456 F.3d at 301. Defendants argue that the "deliberate indifference"
standard should not be applied in the present matter, because Sanford was a "state-created
danger" case, and thus sets out the wrong standard to be applied herein. (Defs.' Reply
Brief at 14.)
Plaintiffs are correct in that Sanford observes that "the level of culpability required to
shock the conscience increases as the time state actors have to deliberate decreases";
nevertheless, that holding only applies to state-created danger cases. See Sanford, 456
F.3d at 309. The present matter, however, should be analyzed in accord with the land-use
cases cited above. Therefore, the appropriate standard is whether Defendants' actions rose
"to a level of self-dealing, corruption, bias against an ethnic group, or any additional activity
that may suggest conscience-shocking behavior." Angino, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79216 at
*47 (citing Dotze/, 306 F. App'x at 801); see also Eichenlaub v. Twp. of Indiana, 385 F.3d
274, 285 (3d Cir. 2004)(in zoning context, behavior that "shocks the conscience" involves
26
"only the most egregious official conduct"). Defendants maintain that their actions were
necessary to protect the environment as well as the public. See County of Sacramento v.
Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 849 (1998)("conduct deliberately intended to injure in some way
unjustifiable by any government interest is the sort of official action most likely to rise to the
conscience-shocking level"); see also Highway Materials, Inc. v. Whitemarsh Twp., 386 F.
App'x 251,258 (3d Gir. 2010) (quoting Harlen Assocs. V. Inc. Viii. Of Mineola, 273 F.3d
494, 505 (2d Gir. 2001 )(finding that so long as the state actors did not act in away that
"transgresses the 'outer limit' of legitimate governmental action ... [it will] not give rise to a
federal substantive due process claim"); Vorum v. Canton Twp., 308 F. App'x 651,653 (3d
Gir. 2009)("[A] state actor's decision is not conscience-shocking if it is related to a legitimate
governmental objective")).
Plaintiffs in this case were denied their Source Approval Request by PADEP's
Bureau of Mining. So long as Defendants acted in a way that did not "transgressD the 'outer
limit' of legitimate governmental action," see Highway Materials, Inc., 386 F. App'x at 258,
and to the degree that their actions were related to a legitimate governmental objective, see
id., Defendants' actions do not give rise to the requisite level of egregiousness essential to a
finding that their actions shock the conscience. The state has a valid interest in ensuring
that contaminated fill, or fill which cannot be verified to be uncontaminated, is not placed in
a mine void in away that would threaten the purity of the water table.
27
2. Procedural Due Process
Count IV of Plaintiffs' Complaint also contends that Defendants violated Plaintiffs'
right to procedural due process. In order to state a claim for a violation of procedural due
process, Plaintiffs must allege that: (1) they were deprived of an individual interest that is
encompassed within the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of life, liberty, or property; and
(2) the procedures available did not provide due process of law. See Alvin v. Suzuki, 227
F.3d 107, 116 (3d Cir. 2000); Hill v. Borough of Kutztown, 455 F.3d 225, 233-34 (3d Cir.
2006).
a.) Property Interest
First, the Court must determine whether Plaintiffs have alleged any "deprivation of a
constitutional right at all. See MFS Inc. v. DiLazaro, 771 F. Supp. 2d 382, 434 (E.D.Pa
II
2011) (quoting Culinary Service of Delaware Valley, Inc., v. Borough of Yardley, 385 F.
App'x 135,141 (3d Cir. 2010). Plaintiffs allege multiple violations of protected property
interests including the right to use, control, and enjoy their real property and business; their
permit to conduct noncoal mining activities; their right to pursue its mining and reclamation
activities free from unreasonable or arbitrary government constraint; and their right of
contract. (Pis.' Compl. at 1m 196-199.)
To have a cognizable property interest under the Fourteenth Amendment it is
required that a party show "more than an abstract need or desire" for the property; it
requires more than a "unilateral expectation" of entitlement to the property. See Bd. of
28
Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548
(1972). Rather, aperson must have a "legitimate claim of entitlement" to the property. See
Roth, 408 U.S. at 577. These protected property interests are created in various ways,
such as "existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as
state law," and the "types of interests protected as property are varied and, as often as not,
are intangible." Stana v. Sch. Dist. of the City of Pittsburgh, 775 F.2d 122, 125 (3d Cir.
1985). While property interests are usually "expressly created by state statutes or
regulations," they can "also arise from written or unwritten state or local government
policies...." Id. at 126. (citing Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593,601-602 (1972)).
The Third Circuit has held fundamental property interests, for procedural due
process purposes, can be implicated by zoning decisions, building permits, or other issues
requiring governmental permission for some intended use of plaintiffs land. See
Independent, 103 F.3d at 1179 n12; see also MFS, 771 F. Supp. at 434 n. 50 (holding that
zoning decisions, building permits, and other issues that require some governmental
permission may implicate afundamental property interest). The Third Circuit has also held
that a business itself is an established property right entitled to protection by the Fourteenth
Amendment. See College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Post-Secondary Education
Expense Board, 131 F.3d 353, 361 (3d Cir. 1997); see also MFS, 771 F. Supp. at 434-435.
Plaintiffs have a surface mining permit that was issued by the PADEP pursuant to
the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, 52 P.S. § 3301, and
29
authorized by the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, 52 P.S. § 1391.1.
The permit allows Plaintiffs to operate a noncoal mine with the option for reclamation of the
land so long as said reclamation is in accord with PADEP's Bureau of Mining standards.
Further, as Plaintiffs admit in their Complaint, the issuance of the surface mining permit was
specifically conditioned upon Plaintiffs' acceptance of the prevailing standards set forth by
the Bureau of Mining. Accordingly, Plaintiffs have stated the existence of a legitimate
property interest.
b.) Appropriate Procedures Available
Recognizing that Plaintiffs have a property interest in their business and in the land
involved in their operation, as a matter of state law, the procedures afforded to Plaintiffs
provided them with adequate procedural due process. Procedural due process is satisfied
when a state affords a full judicial mechanism with which to challenge the administrative
decision at issue. See Bello v. Walker, 840 F.2d 1124, 1128 (3d Cir. 1998), abrogated on
other grounds by, United Artists Theatre Circuit, Inc. v. Township of Warrington, PA, 316
F.3d 392, 394 (3d Cir. 2003). If adequate process is provided by state procedures,
procedural due process is satisfied whether or not a plaintiff avails itself of the provided
appeal mechanism. See DeBlasio v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment for the Twp. of West
Amwell, 53 F.3d 592, 597 (3d Cir. 1995), abrogated on other grounds by United Artists
Theatre Circuit, Inc., 316 F.3d at 400-401 (internal citations and quotations omitted). liThe
availability of a full judicial mechanism to challenge the administrative decision to deny an
30
application, even an application that was wrongly denied, preclude[s] a determination that
the decision was made pursuant to a constitutionally defective procedure." Midnight
Sessions, Ltd. v. City of Philadelphia, 945 F.2d 667,681 (3d Cir. 1991), abrogated on other
grounds by United Artists, 316 F.3d at 400-401. Moreover, the available state procedure
need not provide all the relief available under a section 1983 cause of action in order for the
available state procedure to be constitutionally adequate. Parratt v. Taylor,451 U.S. 527,
543-544 (1981), overruled on other grounds, by Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327 (1986).
Under Pennsylvania law, Plaintiff has the right to challenge before the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board ("EHB") any adverse
decision taken by PADEP against a permit. See 35 P.S. § 7514; see also Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection v. Schneiderwind, 867 A.2d 724,
727 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2005). Furthermore, under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 763, Plaintiffs have the
right to appeal any adverse decision of the Environmental Hearing Board to the
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. See Pennsylvania Coal Mining Association v. Watt,
562 F.Supp. 741, 744 (M.D. Pa. 1983). Here, Plaintiffs not only had the right to challenge
PADEP's actions before the Environmental Hearing Board, they did so. Plaintiffs appealed
to the EHB and were given an opportunity to conduct discovery. It was Plaintiffs' decision to
cease the appeal procedure once the clean fill they had sought from the WABP was sent to
another site. Plaintiffs had the "availability of a full judicial mechanism" to challenge the
adverse administrative decision. See Midnight Sessions, Ltd., 945 F.2d at 681. (liThe
31
availability of afull judicial mechanism to challenge the administrative decision to deny an
application, even an application that was wrongly denied, precluded a determination that the
decision was made pursuant to a constitutionally defective procedure").
The Environmental Hearing Board is a neutral arbiter, and Plaintiffs were
represented by counsel before the Board. Plaintiffs filed various motions and exhibits, and
the Environmental Hearing Board heard testimony from members of the Bureau of Mining.
It is apparent that the state provided aneutral, judicial mechanism by which appeals could
be taken, and that Plaintiffs were not denied procedural due process.
For the reasons stated above, this Court grants Defendants' motion to dismiss
Counts I and IV of Plaintiffs' Complaint.
C. Dormant Commerce Clause
Count II of Plaintiffs' Complaint asserts a Dormant Commerce Clause violation. (See
generally Pis.' Compl. at mr 169-179.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendants' policy, practice,
custom, or procedure of refusing to approve out-of-state fill for mine reclamation constitutes
an unlawful, discriminatory, and illegal restraint on interstate commerce. Specifically,
Plaintiffs' argue that Defendants' policy advances no legitimate state purpose and even if
one existed, there are other nondiscriminatory means available to promote any such
purpose without burdening or restraining interstate commerce. (Pis.' CompI. at mr 172-179.)
On the other hand, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have not identified any law that facially
discriminates against interstate commerce nor have they alleged that any out-of-state
32
competitor that wants to do business in Pennsylvania is burdened by its policies. (Defs.'
Brief in Support of Mot. To Dismiss at 15.)
The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power "to regulate Commerce... among
the several States." U.S. CONST. art. I, § 8 cl. 3. Although the Commerce Clause speaks
specifically to powers granted to Congress, the Court has recognized that it can also limit
the power of the States "to erect barriers against interstate trade." Lewis v. B. T. Inv.
Managers, Inc., 447 U.S. 27, 35 (1980). Specifically, the Commerce Clause has an implied
requirement-the Dormant Commerce Clause-that the states not "mandate differential
treatment of in-state and out-of state economic interests that benefits the former and
burdens the laUer." Keystone Redevelopment Partners, LLC v. Decker, 631 F.3d 89, 106
(3d Cir. 2011) (Fisher, J., concurring and dissenting) (quoting Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S.
460, 472 (2005)). The modern law of the Dormant Commerce Clause "is driven by concern
about 'economic protectionism'-that is, regulatory measures designed to benefit in-state
economic interests by burdening out-of-state competitors." Dep't of Revenue of Kentucky v.
Davis, 553 U.S. 328, 337-38,128 S.Ct. 1801, 170 L.Ed.2d 685 (2008) (internal citations
omitted). Individuals that have been injured by some state action violating the Dormant
Commerce Clause may sue and obtain injunctive and declaratory relief under Section 1983.
Dennis v. Higgins, 498 U.S. 439, 447,111 S.Ct865, 112 L.Ed.2d 969 (1991).
Dormant Commerce Clause analysis involves a two-step inquiry: the first question is
"whether achallenged law discriminates against interstate commerce." Davis, 553 U.S. at
33
338; see also United Haulers Ass'n., Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Mgmt. Auth., 550
U.S. 330, 338, 127 S.Ct. 1786, 167 L.Ed.2d 655 (2007) ("to determine whether a law
violates this so-called 'dormant' aspect of the Commerce Clause, we first ask whether it
discriminates on its face qgainst interstate commerce"). Discrimination is the "differential
treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefit the former and burdens
the latter." Oregon Waste Sys. Inc. v. Dep't of Envtl. Quality of Oregon, 511 U.S. 93, 99,
114 S.Ct. 1345, 128 L.Ed.2d 13 (1994). "Discriminatory laws motivated by simple economic
protectionism are subject to a virtually per se rule of invalidity which can only be overcome
by ashowing that the state has no other means to advance a legitimate local purpose."
United Haulers Ass'n, 550 U.S. at 338-39. "When a state statute clearly discriminates
against interstate commerce, it will be struck down unless the discrimination is
demonstrably justified by a valid factor unrelated to economic protectionism ...." Wyoming
v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437,455, 112 S.Ct. 789, 117 L.Ed.2d 1 (1992)(internal citations
omitted). The second step of the inquiry examines any potential burden placed on interstate
commerce: "Absent discrimination for [a] forbidden purpose [ ...] the law 'will be upheld
unless the burden imposed on [interstate] commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the
putative local benefits.'" Davis, 553 U.S. at 338-39.
Defendants argue that Plaintiffs fail to identify any law, statute, regulation, or local
ordinance that allegedly discriminates on its face against interstate commerce. (Defs.'
Mem. of Law in Support of Mot. To Dismiss at 15.) Defendants argue that the Mining Clean
34
Fill standard is a statement of policy, not a de facto regulation as Plaintiffs argue, and as
such cannot discriminate against interstate commerce. (Id.) Defendants' analysis misstates
the legal framework, because a law can discriminate against out-of-state interests either
facially, or in practical effect. See Wyoming, 502 U.S. at 454-55. Accordingly, whether or
not the Mining Clean Fill standard is a statement of policy is not a determination that is
useful to the disposition of this case. Plaintiffs cite a litany of case law that persuasively
shows how executive actions may infringe on the Commerce Clause. See, e.g., At!. Coast
Demol. &Recyc., Inc. v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders, 112 F.3d 652 (3d Cir. 1997) (agency
prohibited from implementing discriminatory formal or informal waste disposal policy); Major
Tours, Inc. v. Colorel, 720 F. Supp. 2d 587, 609 (D.N.J. 2010) (discretionary actions of state
officials); Empire Sanitary Landfill, Inc. v. Com., Dep't of Envt'l Res., 684 A.2d 1047, 1056,
1056-57 (Pa. 1996) (DEP's administrative policy for waste disposal burdened interstate
commerce). A determination that executive action may violate the Dormant Commerce
Clause, however, does not end the inquiry. In order to state a cause of action, Plaintiffs
must also allege that there is a burden on out of state competitors, and that there is an
excessive burden on interstate commerce in relation to any supposed benefit to be derived
from the PADEP's rule.
Plaintiffs allege that "Defendants refused to approve any fill in 'good conscience,'
including the subject Willis Avenue Bridge Project fill, that they could not personally inspect."
(Pis.' Compl. at 1f 174.) Plaintiffs further allege that "['~or various reasons including
35
substantial staffing deficiencies and insufficient resources, Defendants refused to travel out
of-state to personally inspect the fill." (Pis.' CompI. at ~ 175.) Plaintiffs then aver that
"Defendants' policy, practice, custom, or procedure of refusing to approve out-of-state fill for
mine reclamation constitutes an unlawful, discriminatory and illegal restrain on interstate
commerce." (Pis.' Compl. at ~ 175.) Plaintiffs do not, however, assert that they have been
treated differently than any similarly situated market participant either within or outside
Pennsylvania, nor do they allege that there is any absolute ban on the importation of out-of
state fill for the purposes of mine reclamation.
Plaintiffs' argument is premised upon the idea that Defendants illegally restricted the
interstate sale of "clean fill"; thus, the object of the alleged Dormant Commerce Clause
violation is the proposed clean fill and not the actual market participants who now seek
relief. To begin, the Supreme Court's decision in Oregon Waste Sys., Inc., supra,
specifically requires discrimination against "out-of-state economic interests" in order for a
party to state a proper Dormant Commerce Clause discrimination claim. 511 U.S. at 99. It
defies logic, as well as a commonsense reading of the Supreme Court's holding in that
case, that inanimate fill, as opposed to an individual or a corporate entity, can possess an
economic interest. Although "clean fill" possesses an intrinsic economic value, it is the
buyers and sellers of such fill that maintain the economic interest protected by law. In the
present matter, both Plaintiffs and the Coplay facility are in-state competitors, and it is the fill
36
which was from out-of-state. Essentially, Plaintiffs confuse the economic interest of the
parties with the product underlying such an interest.
Further, Plaintiffs argument is belied by their allegation that the Coplay Facility was
permitted to accept the "clean fill" under separate regulations applicable to inactive mines.
Thus, Plaintiffs' Complaint admits that the contested "clean 'fill" in this matter was not barred
from entering Pennsylvania for use as mine fill. This distinction is important because the
denial of a permit to use the "clean fill" at Plaintiffs' facility was not a prohibition on the use
of the WASP fill within the Commonwealth; rather, it was a regulation as to how a very
specific product transacted in interstate commerce could be used once transported into the
Commonwealth.
When courts consider whether nondiscriminatory state environmental statutes
violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, they apply the test set forth in Pike v. Bruce
Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137, 142,90 S.Ct. 844, 25 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970):
[I]f a statute regulates "evenhandedly" and imposes only "incidental" burdens
on interstate commerce, the courts must nevertheless strike it down if "the
burden imposed on such commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the
putative local benefits." Moreover, "the extent of the burden that will be
tolerated will of course depend on the nature of the local interest involved,
and on whether it could be promoted as well with a lesser impact on interstate
activities."
Old Bridge Chemicals, Inc. v. New Jersey Dep't of Envt. Prt., 965 F.2d 1287, 1294-95 (3d
Cir. 1992)(quoting Pike, 297 U.S. at 142).
37
"[W]here the burden on out-of-state interests rises no higher than that placed on
competing in-state interests, it is a burden on commerce rather than a burden on interstate
commerce." Old Bridge Chem., Inc., 965 F.2d at 1295. "A challenged regulation is
discriminatory when it confers advantages upon in-state economic interests, either directly
or through imposition of a burden upon out-of-state interests, as against out-of-state
competitors." Id. In the present matter, the PADEP's regulations do not facially discriminate
against out-of-state "competitors." Fill originating from an in-state location that did not meet
the same specifications would not have been deemed acceptable for use in Plaintiffs'
reclamation project. Therefore, it is of no legal consequence that the WABP fill originated
from an out-of-state location.
The courts have confronted similar matters.
In Maine v. Taylor, 477 U.S. 131, 106 S.Ct. 2440, 91 L.Ed.2d 110 (1986), the
Supreme Court addressed whether a Maine statute which "block[ed] all inward shipments of
live baitfish at the State's border," id. at 137, impermissibly violated the Dormant Commerce
Clause. The Court held that the state had a legitimate interest in regulating the inflow of
such a product because it may have a substantial impact on the state's environmental
concerns. The Court held:
[W]e agree with the District Court that Maine has a legitimate interest in
guarding against imperfectly understood environmental risks, despite the
possibility that they may ultimately prove to be negligible. "The constitutional
principles underlying the commerce clause cannot be read as requiring the
State of Maine to sit idly by and wait until potentially irreversible
environmental damage has occurred or until the scientific community agrees
38
on what disease organisms are or are not dangerous before it acts to avoid
such consequences."
Taylor, 477 U.S. at 148 (quoting U.S. v. Taylor, 585 F. Supp. 393, 397 (D. Me.
1984). The Court further found that "there is little reason in this case to believe that
the legitimate justifications the State has put forward for its statute are merely a
sham or a 'post hoc rationalization.'" Id. at 149 (citing Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441
U.S. 332, 338 n. 20, 99 S.Ct. 1727,60 L.Ed.2d 250 (1979)).
In City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U.S. 617, 98 S.Ct. 2531,57
L.Ed.2d 475 (1978), the Supreme Court struck down a New Jersey law that
prohibited the importation of most out-of-state waste. The Supreme Court held that
the law was protectionist in nature, and that environmental concerns were merely a
pretext to shroud overarching economic concerns voiced by the New Jersey
legislature. Id. at 628. Specifically, the Supreme Court noted that the legislation was
primarily concerned with the availability of land-fill space, and that this concern
reflected economic interests as opposed to environmental ones. See id. at 627-28.
The Court also noted "that a State may not accord its own inhabitants a preferred
right of access over consumers in other States to natural resources located within its
borders." Id. at 627 (citing West, Attorney General of Oklahoma v. Kansas Nat. Gas.
CO.,221 U.S. 229, 31 S.Ct. 564, 55 L.Ed.2d 716; Pennsylvania v. West Virginia, 262
U.S. 553, 43 S.Ct. 659, 67 L.Ed.2d 1117)).
39
In the present case, Defendants implemented a regulatory scheme governing the
use of "clean fill" for mine reclamation projects. Such regulations were put into place to
ensure that the environment is not adversely impacted by the use of such products whether
they originate from within Pennsylvania or without. Unlike the facts underlying the Court's
decision in City of Philadelphia, the economic value of land~fill space is not a relevant issue
in this case; rather, it is the use of any material, notwithstanding its place of origin, that may
contain certain toxic elements that animates the PADEP's strict "clean fill" requirements.
Further, Plaintiffs in the present matter do not aver that in~state entities or fill are treated
differently than out~of~state entities or fill with regard to the acceptable level of
contamination, if any, that can be found within "clean filL" The WASP fill was not prohibited
from entering Pennsylvania, and the WASP fill was permitted to be used in another facility in
accordance with the PADEP's universal guidelines applicable to the specific facility where
the "clean fill" was eventually deposited.
Similarly, the "clean fill" was not subject to an absolute ban akin to the baitfish in
Taylor, supra, nor did Pennsylvania implement any regulation, tax, or surcharge meant to
protect an in-state economic interest from out~of-state competitors. See Chern. Waste
Mgrnt. v. Hunt, 504 U.S. 334, 343-44, 112 S.Ct. 2009, 119 L.Ed.2d 121 (1992)(additional
fee on out-of-state waste entering Alabama land-fills violated Commerce Clause because
only basis for surcharge was the "origin of the waste"). The WASP fill itself was not
subjected to any discrimination because of its origin; rather, the WASP fill was scrutinized
40
because of specific environmental benchmarks that the soil was required to meet in order to
be considered environmentally safe for use in a reclamation project such as the one
operated by Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' argument fails to consider the substantial fact, and one that
it admits in its own papers, that the WASP fill was permitted to be deposited in an inactive
mine in Pennsylvania. The environmental regulations imposed by the PADEP applied
evenly to in and out-of-state competitors, and the only distinction made is between active
and inactive mines. Thus, Defendants' actions in its handling of the WASP 'fill were not
facially discriminatory, and the regulations imposed by the PADEP were facially neutral.
Plaintiffs admit that the PADEP's resources are scarce, and that the application
materials they provided to Defendants indicated the area from which the WASP fill was
being taken was surrounded by possible contaminants. Pennsylvania has a substantial,
important interest in protecting its environment and in enforcing its environmental
regulations. Any slight burden imposed on interstate commerce is incidental and dwarfed
by the Commonwealth's interest in protecting its environment from the harms that may arise
from fill that is to be placed in an active mine below the water table and which cannot be
verified as being free of contaminants.
Finally, Plaintiffs fail to allege that there is any in-state or out-of-state market
participant, that is, any disposer or receiver of clean fill, that would be discriminatorily
harmed by PADEP's policies. All similarly situated in-state facilities that accept clean fill are
required to abide by the applicable PADEP regulations regardless of the source of the fill.
41
The same policies govern out-of-state sources. Accordingly, Plaintiffs fail to state aclaim
under the Dormant Commerce Clause.
D. Equal Protection
Count III of Plaintiffs' Complaint asserts an equal protection violation. (Pis.' Compl.
at mr 184-88.) Although not specifically identified in the Complaint, both parties argue that
Plaintiffs allege a"class-of-one" theory of equal protection. Plaintiffs allege that PADEP
acted with discriminatory purpose by intentionally imposing a more stringent requirement on
Pioneer for use and placement of the WABP 'FIll than those which the PADEP required
Coplay to abide by for use and placement of the exact same fill and that there was no
rational basis for this differential treatment. (Pis.' Compl. at mr 185-186.) Defendants
argue that Plaintiffs have failed to allege an equal protection claim. Specifically, Defendants
contend that Plaintiffs' "class of one" equal protection claim fails to allege (1) that Plaintiffs
were treated differently by Defendants and (2) that the Coplay facility was similarly situated.
(Defs.' Brief in Support of Mot. To Dismiss at 17.) Even if Plaintiffs do satisfactorily allege
these elements, Defendants claim their actions had arational basis which would account for
any alleged disparity in treatment. (Id. at 18.)
Essentially, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment directs that
"all persons similarly situated should be treated alike." City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living
Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 439, 150 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985). There are two theories by
which aplaintiff may assert an equal protection claim. Under the traditional theory, a
42
plaintiff may be protected 'from discriminatory treatment based on membership in a
protected class such as gender or race. See, e.g., Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 440 (finding that
mental retardation was not a suspect or quasi-suspect class). In contrast, a plaintiff that is
not a part of a protected class may still have an equal protection claim under the "class of
one" theory. See Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564 (2000). Since
Plaintiffs' complaint does not allege that it belongs to any protected class, the Court will
discuss Plaintiffs' claim under the class of one theory.
Under the "class of one" doctrine, a plaintiff may obtain relief for equal protection
violations so long as a plaintiff alleges that he or she has been "intentionally treated
differently from others similarly situated and that there is no rational basis for the difference
in treatment." Willowbrook, 528 U.S. at 564. According to the Third Circuit, a plaintiff
asserting a"class of one" claim "must allege that (1) the defendant treated him differently
from others similarly situated, (2) the defendant did so intentionally, and (3) there was no
rational basis for the difference in treatment." Hill v. Borough of Kutztown, 455 F.3d 225,
239 (3d Cir. 2006).
1. Similarly Situated
The first step in an equal protection analysis is to ascertain whether the plaintiffs
were treated differently than similarly situated entities. Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 439; Melrose,
Inc. v. City of Pittsburgh, 613 F.3d 380, 394 (3d Cir. 2010). Persons are similarly situated
when "they are alike in all relevant aspects." Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, 533 F.3d 183,
43
203 (3d Cir. 2009) (internal quotations omitted). Plaintiffs pleaded that the Coplay facility
was similarly situated and also allege that "other Mining District Offices imposed the less
stringent Waste Clean Fill policy, such as the Moshannon District Office's November 28,
2005 approval of Glenn Hawbaker, Inc.'s proposed source for the Brooks Quarry." (Pis.
Compl. at 1f 187.)
Plaintiffs Complaint alleges that the Coplay mine is located approximately 70 miles
from Pioneer's mine and that it is an "inactive mine" and thus regulated by the Bureau of
Waste. Further, pursuant to an agreement with the PADEP, Coplay submitted an approval
request for the WABP even though it was not required to do so by law. (Pis.' Compl. at 1f
147).
Although this Court takes note of another district court's explication that "any two
entities will look sufficiently dissimilar if examined at a microscopic level," see Holt Cargo
Sys./ Inc. v. Delaware River Port Auth., 20 F. Supp. 2d 803, 826 (E.D. Pa. 1998), we cannot
say that Plaintiffs suffiCiently allege that the Coplay facility or the Glenn Hawbaker decision
are similarly situated to Plaintiffs' facility. Defendants are correct in noting that the Coplay
facility is an inactive mine and therefore regulated by a completely different bureau at the
PADEP. Because of its status as an inactive mine, the Coplay facility is governed by a
completely different legislative scheme than that of an active mine such as Pioneer.
Plaintiffs argue that the fact that each bureau derives its authority from different statutes is
irrelevant because both bureaus had the same purpose and followed the same standard for
44
governing the use of clean fill. However, this reasoning does not overcome Plaintiffs' failure
to sufficiently plead that Plaintiffs' facility is similarly situated. With regard to the Glenn
Hawbaker decision, Plaintiffs only mention this decision once and fail to allege any facts
regarding how this company was similarly situated or treated differently. Further, Plaintiffs'
Complaint speci'fically alleges that inconsistent applications of the clean 'fill standards were
made by different district offices throughout the Commonwealth; thus, Plaintiffs' Complaint
does not sufficiently allege that the particular Defendants named in the present action
inconsistently applied clean fill regulations. Accordingly, this Court cannot find that either
the Coplay facility, or the Glenn Hawbaker site, is similarly situated in all relevant aspects.
2. Rational Basis
Even if Plaintiffs can maintain that they are similarly situated to others treated in a
dissimilar and more favorable manner, their claim will still fail because the PADEP had a
rational basis for denying their application to use a particular source of clean fil1. 3 Plaintiffs
argue that the issue in the present case is irrational class legislation and that the
classifications Defendants created among mines based on Mining Districts and
inactive/active status are irrational. Defendants argue that they have the authority to
regulate active mines and therefore acted rationally in furtherance of a legitimate state
interest, namely protecting the environment and water supply for the public by preventing
them from putting fill of questionable cleanliness below the water table.
2
Defendants' reliance on MFS Inc. v. DiLazaro, 771 F. Supp. 2d 382,434 fE.D.Pa 2011), is inapposite
because it dealt with selective enforcement of agency regulations.
45
"[RJational-basis review in equal protection analysis 'is not a license for courts to
judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic'" of government activity. See Holt, 20 F. Supp. 2d at
825 (quoting Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 320 (1990)); see also FCC v. Beach Commns
I
Inc., 508 U.S. 307, 313 (1993) (holding that government actions will be found rational "if
there is any reasonably conceivable state of facts" that could support it).
Defendants have extensive discretion in enforcing state environmental protection
laws. Specifically, the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, 52 P.S. § 1396.1
and the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act. 52 P.S. § 3301 both
provide Defendants with authority to regulate reclamation at active mine sites. Defendants
gave Plaintiffs specific reasons as to why the clean fill at the WABP did not meet the
regulatory requirements. Thus, in a February 27, 2009 letter to Pioneer, the PADEP denied
Plaintiffs' request to use the WABP fill and provided the following justification:
The Department has determined that the material from the Willis Avenue
Bridge Project does not meet the definition of clean fill and is not approved for
placement in the Pioneer Aggregates, Inc., Pioneer Quarry SMP No.
40060301. Soil and grou'ndwater at the source site are extensively
contaminated with metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. It cannot be proven
or determined with any real certainty that the material to be placed on the
mining permit is uncontaminated. Industrial and commercial sites likely to
contain contaminated soils are unacceptable as clean fill sources.
Pis. Comp!., Exh. C., at 7, ECF Dkt. 1-3.
Certainly protecting the Commonwealth's water supply would fall in the ambit of a
reasonably conceivable set of facts to support their decision. Accordingly. we find that
Defendants actions were rationally related to the legitimate state interest.
46
For the reasons stated above, this court grants Defendants motion to dismiss Count
III of Plaintiffs' Complaint.
III. COMMONWEALTH DOCUMENTS LAW
Count VI of Plaintiffs' Complaint asserts aviolation of the Commonwealth
Documents law under 45 P.S. § 1102. (Pis.' Compl. at mI 206-215.) This law "sets forth an
approval process for administrative regulations." (Pis.' Compl. at 11 207.) "This process
includes certain content, notice, and filing requirements." (Pis.' Compl. at 11 208.)
Specifically, Plaintiffs argue that the Mining Clean Fill standard is a de facto regulation and
therefore not properly promulgated pursuant to the Commonwealth Documents law. (Pis.'
Compl. at 11 215.) Further, the Commonwealth Court has original jurisdiction over all civil
actions against the commonwealth government. 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 761(a}(1) (1986).
Accordingly, this Court will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over this lone state
law claim as permitted by 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3) ("(c) The district courts may decline to
exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a claim under subsection (a) if -- ... (3) the district
court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction").
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth in this Memorandum Opinion, Plaintiffs' Complaint will be
dismissed with prejudice. A separate Order will follow.
47
DATE: September 21, 2012
Robert D. Mariani
United States District Judge
48
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?