Olаf A. HALLSTROM and Mary E. Hallstrom, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Cross-Appellees, v. TILLAMOOK COUNTY, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee, and Cross-Appellant.
Nos. 86-4016, 86-4100 and 86-4257
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Nov. 3, 1987
April 7, 1988
844 F.2d 598
Argued and Submitted Sept. 10, 1987. As Amended on Denial of Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc April 7, 1988.
2. Contaminants
Northwest claims that the BLM should have conducted a worst case analysis for 2,4-D because it might be contaminated with TCDD. This concern was raised in the SEIS but rejected. The BLM states that although some 2,4-D was contaminated in the early 1980s, that particular version of 2,4-D is no longer being produced. The EPA has monitored the situation and no contaminants havе been found recently. The SEIS notes the possibility that 2,4-D might be contaminated but concludes that no human health hazards are posed. The BLM acknowledges the uncertainty of the data, and then reasons that even if contaminants are found, the hazards are reduced bеcause of the low dosage humans are likely to be exposed to through the herbicide spraying and the low toxicity of 2,4-D.
3. Ignored Data
Northwest protests that no mammalian studies such as those offered by Dr. Ruth Shearer were included in the worst case analysis. However, the BLM presentеd a representative range of studies and the district court correctly concluded that it “can-not say that one set of experts is clearly more correct than the other.” 673 F.Supp. at 1025. Again, in summarizing the studies, the BLM acknowledges the existing uncertainties. The reports include studies with adverse as well as favorable toxicity results.
Although Northwest raises some legitimate environmental concerns, the record supports the district court‘s conclusion that the BLM‘s decisionmaking was not arbitrary or capricious. The district court correctly observеd that the BLM “is entitled to be ‘arguably wrong.‘” Id. at 1026 & n. 6 (quoting Kunzman, 817 F.2d at 496). The district court‘s partial dissolution of the injunction is upheld.
Thus, Northwest‘s request for attorneys’ fees on appeal pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA),
AFFIRMED.
I. Franklin Hunsaker, James G. Driscoll and Thomas D. Adams, Portland, Or., for defendant-appellee and cross-appellant.
Before WRIGHT, WALLACE and PREGERSON, Circuit Judges.
ORDER
The panel voted unanimously to deny the petition for rehearing. The majority of the panel voted to reject the suggestion for rеhearing en banc. Judge Pregerson was in favor of granting the suggestion for rehearing en banc.
A call for an en banc vote was made and the case failed to receive a majority of the votes of the active circuit judges in favor of rehearing en banc.
The petition for rehearing is denied and the suggestion for a rehearing en banc is rejected.
AMENDED OPINION
EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:
This case requires us to determine whether failure to comply with the 60 day notice requirement of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) deprived the district сourt of subject matter jurisdiction to hear this case. Of the seven circuits that have considered this issue, three have found that notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite and four have held that notice is merely procedural.
We hold that proper notice is a prеcondition of the district court‘s jurisdiction. Because the Hallstroms failed to notify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) before filing suit, the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case. We remand for dismissal.
BACKGROUND
The Hallstroms own property near the Tillamook County landfill. They allege that leachate (contaminated liquid) discharged from the landfill caused or contributed to bacterial and chemical pollution of their surface and ground water. In April 1982, they filed suit against the cоunty under
The district court found that leachate from the landfill was polluting the Hallstroms’ land in violation of RCRA and the Oregon State-Wide Water Quality Management Plan, which is incorporated by RCRA. The court ordered the county to contain the leachate within two years. The state claims were heard by a jury, which found for the county on all three claims.
DISCUSSION
No action may be commenсed under this section ... prior to sixty days after
the plaintiff has given notice of the violation to—(i) the Administrator [of the EPA]; (ii) the State in which the alleged violation occurs; and (iii) any alleged violator of [any] permit, standard, regulation, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order [pursuant to RCRA] ...
At least eight environmental statutes contain identical or similar notice provisions. Susquehanna Valley Alliance v. Three Mile Island, 619 F.2d 231, 242 n. 12 (3d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1096 (1981). Courts have construed these provisions identically despite slight differences in wording. See, e.g., Garcia v. Cecos Int‘l, Inc., 761 F.2d 76, 79 (1st Cir.1985); Natural Resources Defense Council v. Train, 510 F.2d 692, 699-700 (D.C.Cir.1974).
This notice requirement is designed to balance the value of citizen enforcement of federal environmental policies against the burdens that such enforcement places on the EPA and the federal courts. By notifying the EPA and the state of potential legal action, the citizen plaintiff allows them to avoid litigation by investigating and corrеcting the alleged violation through non-judicial means. Garcia, 761 F.2d at 81; National Resources Defense Council, 510 F.2d at 700.
This court considers for the first time the significance of the
The “pragmatic approach,” adopted by the Seсond, Third, Eighth, and District of Columbia Circuits, treats the notice requirement in the federal environmental statutes as procedural. See, e.g., Natural Resources Defense Council v. Callaway, 524 F.2d 79, 83-84 (2d Cir.1975); Susquehanna Valley Alliance, 619 F.2d at 243; Hempstead County and Nevada County Project v. U.S.E.P.A., 700 F.2d 459, 463 (8th Cir.1983); Natural Resources Defense Council v. Train, 510 F.2d 692 (D.C.Cir. 1974). Failure to satisfy its terms may be cured by the court staying proceedings for 60 days so that the purpose of the notice requirement may be met. Under this approach, so long as 60 days elapse before the district court takes action, formal compliance with the terms of the requirement is not required.
This approach focuses on the role and right of the citizen in enforcing federal environmentаl policies. See, e.g., Natural Resources Defense Council, 510 F.2d at 700 (“[c]itizens can be a useful instrument for detecting violations and bringing them to the attention of the enforcement agencies and courts alike.“) Adherents of this view believe that strict application and enforcement of the notice requirеment is contrary to Congress’ intent in permitting citizen actions. Such a construction would frustrate citizen enforcement of the act, Pymatuning Water Shed Citizens, etc. v. Eaton, 644 F.2d 995, 996 (3d Cir.1981), and treat citizens as “troublemakers” rather than “welcome participants in the vindication of environmental interests.” Proffitt v. Commissioners, Township of Bristol, 754 F.2d 504, 506 (3d Cir.1985)
We adopt Judgе Wisdom‘s better reasoned “jurisdictional prerequisite approach,” set forth in Garcia, 761 F.2d at 78. See also Walls v. Waste Resource Corp., 761 F.2d 311, 316 (6th Cir.1985); City of Highland Park v. Train, 519 F.2d 681 (7th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 927 (1976). This approach focuses on the plain language of the statute and the policy concerns underlying the notice requirement.
Judge Wisdom wrote, “The plain language of
Strict application of the notice requirement is supported by an exception within
We also agree with the First Circuit that the jurisdictional interpretation of
Section 6972(b) and its legislative history reflect Congress‘s belief that the citizen plaintiff working with the state or the EPA can better resolve environmental disputes than can the courts. Congress believed that citizen enforcement through the courts should be secondary to administrative enforcement by the EPA. The notice requirement of
Anything other than a literal interpretation of the 60-day notice requirement of the federal environmentаl statutes would effectively render those provisions worthless. For instance, if a citizen-plaintiff could file a suit under RCRA without following the notice requirements and avoid a motion to dismiss simply by arguing that the EPA or other relevant authority had more than 60 days to act prior to the cоmmencement of trial or discovery proceedings, then, under the realities of modern-day litigation, no one would ever comply with this requirement. We will not attribute to Congress an intent to enact a provision after hours of debate that could be evaded by every рotential plaintiff, thus rendering it meaningless.
Non-judicial resolution of such conflicts is more likely if parties consider their interests and positions in a nonadversarial setting before suit is filed. Litigation should be a last resort only after other efforts have failed. See comments оf Senators Muskie and Hart, 116 Cong.Rec. at 33,103-33,104 (1970). We believe that the “jurisdictional prerequisite” approach is more consistent with this design than the pragmatic approach.
The Hallstroms’ failure to notify the EPA and DEQ 60 days before filing suit against the county barred the district court‘s subjeсt matter jurisdiction over the RCRA claim. Because the court lacked federal jurisdiction at the time the suit was filed, it lacked pendent jurisdiction also. The federal court‘s power to exercise pendent jurisdiction derives from its federal jurisdiction. See United Mine Workers of America v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 725 (1966); Hunter v. United Van Lines, 746 F.2d 635, 649 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 863 (1985).
Without federаl jurisdiction, a federal court has no power to hear state claims. Hunter, 746 F.2d at 649: “The federal court acquires its power over the [pendent] claim ... only if the court has previously properly been seized of jurisdiction. The federal court‘s jurisdiction over the state-law claim is entirely derivative of its jurisdiction over the federal claim.” (citations omitted).
Because the jurisdiction issue is dispositive, we do not reach the other issues. The case is remanded to dismiss and vacate the court‘s opinion. We reverse the award of feеs to the county.
PREGERSON, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
The majority holds that the 60-day notice requirement of
Section 6972 of the Rеsource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA),
The majority of the circuits that have addressed this issue have held that the 60-day notice requirement is procedural, not jurisdictional. See, e.g., Hempstead County & Nevada County Project v. EPA, 700 F.2d 459, 463 (8th Cir.1983); Susquehanna Valley Alliance v. Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor, 619 F.2d 231, 243 (3d Cir.1980) (construing an identical provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1096 (1981); Natural Resources Defense Council v. Callaway, 524 F.2d 79, 83-84 (2d Cir.1975) (construing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act); Natural Resources Defense Council v. Train, 510 F.2d 692, 699-700 (D.C.Cir.1974) (construing amendments to the Clean Air Act). I agree.
One of the purposes of the 60-day notice rеquirement is to allow the EPA to enforce the statute. The majority, while recognizing this purpose, contends that “the jurisdictional interpretation of
I would interpret the statute to require that 60 days elapse before the district court may act. This approach furthers the goal of agеncy enforcement: it allows the agency to consider the alleged violation for 60 days. If the agency has taken no action after 60 days, the district court may proceed. It would be “excessively formalistic” to require the district court to dismiss the action and the parties to refile. Susquehanna Valley Alliance, 619 F.2d at 243.