Northwest Environmental Advocates v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

Filing 118

ORDER re Parties' 117 Stipulated Motion for a 34-Day Extension. The Court extends the 10/16/2021 date in Paragraph 3 of its Order (Dkt. 95 ), by 34 days, until 11/19/2021. Signed by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez. (SB)

Case 2:14-cv-00196-RSM Document 118 Filed 10/19/21 Page 1 of 5

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The Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVOCATES,

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY,

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Defendant,
and
NORTHWEST PULP & PAPER ASS’N,
et al.
Defendant-Intervenors.

No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM
JOINT STATUS REPORT, STIPULATED
MOTION AND ORDER FOR A 34-DAY
EXTENSION UNTIL NOVEMBER 19, 2021
Notice on Motion Calendar: October 14, 2021

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Defendant United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Plaintiff

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Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), by and through their respective attorneys, submit

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this joint status report as required by the Court’s Order Granting Stay Pending Voluntary

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Reconsideration, dated October 17, 2018 (Dkt. 95) (“Order”). In addition, EPA requests a 34-

Joint Status Report, Motion and Order
No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM

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Case 2:14-cv-00196-RSM Document 118 Filed 10/19/21 Page 2 of 5

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day extension of the October 16, 2021 date in the Court’s Order (Dkt. 95 ¶ 3), until November

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19, 2021, to complete its reconsideration of the outstanding actions subject to that Order.

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NWEA stipulates to this requested relief, and counsel for the intervenors in this case (State of

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Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Cattlemen’s Association, Northwest Pulp and

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Paper Association, Washington Forest Protection Association, and American Forest Resource

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Council) have authorized the undersigned counsel for EPA to represent that they do not oppose

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this requested relief.

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The grounds for this Status Report and Motion are as follows:

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1)

As explained in the previously filed Unopposed Joint Motion for a Stay of

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Proceedings Pending Voluntary Reconsideration, EPA is reconsidering administrative actions

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challenged in this case, Dkt. 94 ¶ 3; at the time of the Unopposed Joint Motion, EPA expected

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that the reconsideration process could take three years, id.; and, upon completion of that process,

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the claims in this action may be rendered moot, id. ¶ 4. The Order granted that Motion and

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directed the parties to file a status report every 180 days, stating any relevant changes in the case

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and explaining whether the stay should continue. Dkt. 95 ¶ 5.

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2)

As explained in more detail in the Unopposed Joint Motion, EPA is reconsidering

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certain submittals by the State of Washington to evaluate whether the submittals are water

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quality standards that should be approved or disapproved under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section

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303(c), 33 U.S.C. § 1313(c), or to determine that certain state provisions are not water quality

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standards subject to review and approval or disapproval by EPA under CWA Section 303(c).

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3)

EPA has completed its administrative reconsideration of six of the submittals

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under review pursuant to the Unopposed Joint Motion and the Court’s Order. That Motion and

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the Order anticipated that EPA would complete its review of all the submittals by October 16,

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2021. The Order provides that, for a subject action for which EPA has not completed its review

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by October 16, 2021, Plaintiff may file a motion to lift the stay of this case and request a briefing

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schedule for the adjudication of the claim corresponding to that action. Dkt. 95 ¶ 3.

Joint Status Report, Motion and Order
No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM

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Case 2:14-cv-00196-RSM Document 118 Filed 10/19/21 Page 3 of 5

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4)

EPA is currently undertaking the final analysis and review necessary before it can

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complete its reconsideration of the outstanding seven submittals, but requires an additional 34

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days, until November 19, 2021, to complete that process. The outstanding seven submittals are

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provisions concerning Washington’s “natural conditions criteria” and EPA expects to complete

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reconsideration of these seven submittals at the same time. This additional time is needed for

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EPA to finalize the decision document for the proposed action, to complete briefing for EPA

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management, including recently installed EPA officials, and to obtain final approvals and

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signature. Accordingly, EPA requests an extension of the October 16, 2021 date in the Order,

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Dkt. 95 ¶ 3, to November 19, 2021.

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5)

In accordance with the Order, after EPA completes its administrative

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reconsideration of the subject actions, the parties will file an appropriate motion or motions

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seeking dismissal of the case or otherwise explaining why dismissal is not appropriate.

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Accordingly, EPA requests that the Court extend the October 16, 2021 date in Paragraph
3 of its Order (Dkt. 95), by 34 days, until November 19, 2021.

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IT IS SO ORDERED this 19th day of October, 2021.

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A

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RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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Joint Status Report, Motion and Order
No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM

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Case 2:14-cv-00196-RSM Document 118 Filed 10/19/21 Page 4 of 5

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Respectfully submitted,

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By:

/s/ Allison LaPlante/DJK
Allison LaPlante, OSB # 023614
(admitted pro hac vice)
Kevin Cassidy, OSB # 025296
(admitted pro hac vice)
EARTHRISE LAW CENTER
10015 SW Terwilliger Boulevard
Portland, OR 97219
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

By:

David A. Bricklin, WSBA # 7583
Bryan Telegin, WSBA # 46686
BRICKLIN & NEWMAN, LLP
1001 Fourth Avenue, Suite 3303
Seattle, WA 98154
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Attorney for Defendant EPA

Attorneys for Plaintiff NWEA

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Joint Status Report, Motion and Order
No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM

/s/ David Kaplan
David J. Kaplan
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Environment & Natural Resources
Division
Environmental Defense Section
P.O. Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

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Case 2:14-cv-00196-RSM Document 118 Filed 10/19/21 Page 5 of 5

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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I hereby certify that on October 14, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing filing with
the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such to the
attorneys of record.

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/s/ David Kaplan

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Joint Status Report and Motion
No. 2:14-cv-0196-RSM

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