Lead Opinion
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a private enforcement action under the citizen-suit provision of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), 100 Stat. 1755, 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a)(1). The case presents the merits question, answered in the affirmative by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, whether EPCRA authorizes suits for purely past violations. It also presents the jurisdictional question whether respondent, plaintiff below, has standing to bring this action.
I
Respondent, an association of individuals interested m environmental protection, sued petitioner, a small manufacturing company in Chicago, for past violations of EPCRA. EPCRA establishes a framework of state, regional, and local agencies designed to inform the public about the presence of hazardous and toxic chemicals, and to provide for emergency response in the event of health-threatening release. Central to its operation are reporting requirements compelling users of specified toxic and hazardous chemicals to file annual
Enforcement of EPCRA can take place on many fronts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the most powerful enforcement arsenal: it may seek criminal, civil, or administrative penalties. § 11045. State and local governments can also seek civil penalties, as well as injunctive relief. §§ 11046(a)(2) and (c). For purposes of this ease, however, the crucial enforcement mechanism is the citizen-suit provision, § 11046(a)(1), which likewise authorizes civil penalties and injunctive relief, see § 11046(c). This provides that “any person may commence a civil action on his own behalf against. . . [a]n owner or operator of a facility for failure,” among other things, to “[cjomplete and submit an inventory form under section 11022(a) of this title . . . [and] section 11023(a) of this title.” § 11046(a)(1). As a prerequisite to bringing such a suit, the plaintiff must, 60 days prior to filing his complaint, give notice to the Administrator of the EPA, the State in which the alleged violation occurs, and the alleged violator. § 11046(d). The citizen suit may not go forward if the Administrator “has commenced and is diligently pursuing an administrative order or civil action to enforce the requirement concerned or to impose a civil penalty.” § 11046(e).
In 1995 respondent sent a notice to petitioner, the Administrator, and the relevant Illinois authorities, alleging — accurately, as it turns out — that petitioner had failed since 1988, the first year of EPCRA’s filing deadlines, to complete and
The District Court agreed with petitioner on both points. App. to Pet. for Cert. A24-A26. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that citizens may seek penalties against EPCRA violators who file after the statutory deadline and after receiving notice.
II
We granted certiorari in this ease to resolve a conflict between the interpretation of EPCRA adopted by the Seventh Circuit and the interpretation previously adopted by the Sixth Circuit in Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. v. United Musical Instruments, U. S. A., Inc.,
It is firmly established in our eases that the absence of a valid (as opposed to arguable) cause of action does not implicate subject-matter jurisdiction, i. e., the courts’ statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate the ease. See generally 5A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure §1850, p. 196, n. 8 and eases cited (2d ed. 1990). As we stated in Bell v. Hood,
Justice Stevens relies on our treatment of a similar issue as jurisdictional in Gwaltney of Smithfteld, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.,
“The district court shall have jurisdiction in actions brought under subsection (a) of this section against an owner or operator of a facility to enforce the requirement concerned and to impose any civil penalty provided for violation of that requirement.” 42 U. S. C. § 11046(c).
It is unreasonable to read this as making all the elements of the cause of action under subsection (a) jurisdictional, rather than as merely specifying the remedial powers of the court, viz., to enforce the violated requirement and to impose civil penalties. “Jurisdiction,” it has been observed, “is a word of many, too many, meanings,” United States v. Vanness,
It is also the case that the Gwaltney opinion does not display the slightest awareness that anything turned upon whether the existence of a cause of action for past violations was technically jurisdictional — as indeed nothing of substance did. The District Court had statutory jurisdiction over the suit in any event, since continuing violations were also alleged. See
Justice Stevens’ concurrence devotes a large portion of its discussion to cases in which a' statutory standing question was decided before a question of constitutional standing. See post, at 115-117. They also are irrelevant here, because it is not a statutory standing question that Justice Stevens would have us decide first. He wishes to resolve, not whether EPCRA authorizes this plaintiff to sue (it assuredly does), but whether the scope of the EPCRA right of action includes past violations. Such a question, we have held, goes to the merits and not to statutory standing. See Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. County of Kent,
Though it is replete with extensive case discussions, case citations, rationalizations, and syllogoids, see post, at 120, n. 12, and n. 2, infra, Justice Stevens’ opinion conspicuously lacks one central feature: a single case in which this Court has done what he proposes, to wit, call the existence of a cause of action “jurisdictional,” and decide that question before resolving a dispute concerning the existence of an Article III ease or controversy. Of course, even if there were not solid precedent contradicting Justice Stevens’ position, the consequences are alone enough to condemn it. It would turn every statutory question in an EPCRA citizen suit into a question of jurisdiction. Under Justice Stevens’ analysis, § 11046(e)’s grant of “jurisdiction in actions brought under [§ 11046(a)]” withholds jurisdiction over claims involving purely past violations if past violations are not in fact covered by § 11046(a). By parity of reasoning, if there is a dispute as to whether the omission of a particular item constituted a failure to “complete” the form; or as to
III
In addition to its attempt to convert the merits issue in this case into a jurisdictional one, Justice Stevens’ concurrence proceeds, post, at 117-124, to argue the bolder point that jurisdiction need not be addressed first anyway. Even if the statutory question is not “fram[ed] ... in terms of ‘jurisdiction,’ ” but is simply “characterize!)!]... as whether respondent’s complaint states a ‘cause of action,’ ” “it is also clear that we have the power to decide the statutory question first.” Post, at 117-118. This is essentially the position embraced by several Courts of Appeals, which find it proper to proceed immediately to the merits question, despite jurisdictional objections, at least where (1) the merits question is more readily resolved, and (2) the prevailing party on the merits would be the same as the prevailing party were jurisdiction denied. See, e. g., SEC v. American
We decline to endorse such an approach because it carries the courts beyond the bounds of authorized judicial action and thus offends fundamental principles of separation of powers. This conclusion should come as no surprise, since it is reflected in a long and venerable line of our cases. 'Without jurisdiction the court cannot proceed at all in any cause. Jurisdiction is power to declare the law, and when it ceases to exist, the only function remaining to the court is that of announcing the fact and dismissing the .cause.” Ex parte McCardle,
This Court’s insistence that proper jurisdiction appear begins at least as early as 1804, when we set aside a judgment for the defendant at the instance of the losing plaintiff who had himself failed to allege the basis for federal jurisdiction. Capron v. Van Noorden,
“ '[Ejvery federal appellate court has a special obligation to 'satisfy itself not only of its own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts in a cause under review,’ even though the parties are prepared to concede it. Mitchell v. Maurer,293 U. S. 237 , 244 (1934). See Juidice v. Vail,430 U. S. 327 , 331-332 (1977) (standing). ‘And if the record discloses that the lower court was without jurisdiction this court will notice the defect, although the parties make no contention concerning it. [When the lower federal court] lack[s] jurisdiction, we have jurisdiction on appeal, not of the merits but merely for the purpose of correcting the error of the lower court in entertaining the suit.’ United States v. Corrick,298 U. S. 435 , 440 (1936) (footnotes omitted).’ ” Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona, 520 U. S. 43, 73 (1997), quoting Bender v. Williamsport Area School Dist.,475 U. S. 534 , 541 (1986) (brackets in original).
Justice Stevens’ arguments contradicting all this jurisprudence — and asserting that a court may decide the cause of action before resolving Article III jurisdiction — are readily refuted. First, his concurrence seeks to convert Bell v. Hood,
Justice Stevens also relies on National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. National Assn. of Railroad Passengers,
Avrech also involved an instance in which an intervening Supreme Court decision definitively answered the merits
Other eases sometimes cited by the lower courts to support “hypothetical jurisdiction” are similarly distinguishable. United States v. Augenblick, as we have discussed, did not involve a jurisdictional issue. In Philbrook v. Glodgett,
IV
Having reached the end of what seems like a long front walk, we finally arrive at the threshold jurisdictional question: whether respondent, the plaintiff below, has standing to sue. Article III, § 2, of the Constitution extends the “judicial Power” of the United States only to “Cases” and “Controversies.” We have always taken this to mean cases and controversies of the sort traditionally amenable to, and resolved by, the judicial process. Muskrat v. United States, supra, at 356-357. Such a meaning is fairly implied by the text, since otherwise the purported restriction upon the judicial power would scarcely be a restriction at all. Every criminal investigation conducted by the Executive is a “ease,” and every policy issue resolved by congressional legislation involves a “controversy.” These are not, however, the sort of cases and controversies that Article III, § 2, refers to, since “the Constitution’s central mechanism of separation of powers depends largely upon common understanding of what activities are appropriate to legislatures, to executives, and to courts.” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
The “irreducible constitutional minimum of standing” contains three requirements. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
We turn now to the particulars of respondent’s complaint to see how it measures up to Article Ill’s requirements. This case is on appeal from a Rule 12(b) motion to dismiss on the pleadings, so we must presume that the general allegations in the complaint encompass the specific facts necessary to support those allegations. Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation,
As appears from the above, respondent asserts petitioner’s failure to provide EPCRA information in a timely fashion, and the lingering effects of that failure, as the injury in faet to itself and its members. We have not had occasion to decide whether being deprived of information that is supposed to be disclosed under EPCRA — or at least being deprived of it when one has a particular plan for its use — is a concrete injury in fact that satisfies Article III. Cf. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
The complaint asks for (1) a declaratory judgment that petitioner violated EPCRA; (2) authorization to inspect periodically petitioner’s facility and records (with costs borne by petitioner); (3) an order requiring petitioner to provide respondent copies of all compliance reports submitted to the EPA; (4) an order requiring petitioner to pay civil penalties of $25,000 per day for each violation of §§11022 and 11023; (5) an award of all respondent’s “costs, in connection with the investigation and prosecution of this matter, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, as authorized by Section 326(f) of [EPCRA]”; and (6) any such further relief as the court deems appropriate. App. 11. None of the specific items of relief sought, and none that we can envision as “appropriate” under the general request, would serve to reimburse respondent for losses caused by the late re
The first item, the request for a declaratory judgment that petitioner violated EPCRA, can be disposed of summarily. There being no controversy over whether petitioner failed to file reports, or over whether such a failure constitutes a violation, the declaratory judgment is not only worthless to respondent, it is seemingly worthless to all the world. See Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp.,
Item (4), the civil penalties authorized by the statute, see § 11045(c), might be viewed as a sort of compensation or redress to respondent if they were payable to respondent. But they are not. These penalties — the only damages authorized by EPCRA — are payable to the United States Treasury. In requesting them, therefore; respondent seeks not remediation of its own injury — reimbursement for the costs it incurred as a result of the late filing — but vindication of the rule of law — the “undifferentiated public interest” in faithful execution of EPCRA. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, supra, at 577; see also Fairchild v. Hughes,
Item (5), the “investigation and prosecution” costs “as authorized by Section 326(f),” would assuredly benefit respondent as opposed to the citizenry at large. Obviously, however, a plaintiff cannot achieve standing to litigate a substantive issue by bringing suit for the cost of bringing suit. The litigation must give the plaintiff some other benefit besides reimbursement of costs that are a byproduct of the litigation itself. An “interest in attorney’s fees is . . . insufficient to create an Article III case or controversy where none exists on the merits of the underlying claim.” Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp., supra, at 480 (citing Diamond v. Charles,
The remaining relief respondent seeks (item (2), giving respondent authority to inspect petitioner’s facility and records, and item (3), compelling petitioner to provide respondent copies of EPA compliance reports) is injunctive in nature. It cannot conceivably remedy any past wrong but is aimed at deterring petitioner from violating EPCRA in the future. See Brief for Respondent 36. The latter objective can of course be “remedial” for Article III purposes, when threatened injury is one of the gravamens of the complaint. If respondent had alleged a continuing violation or the imminence of a future violation, the injunctive relief requested would remedy that alleged harm. But there is no such allegation here — and on the facts of the case, there seems no basis for it. Nothing supports the requested injunctive relief except respondent’s generalized interest in deterrence,
The United States, as amicus curiae, argues that the in-junctive relief does constitute remediation because “there is a presumption of [future] injury when the defendant has voluntarily ceased its illegal activity in response to litigation,” even if that occurs before a complaint is filed. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 27-28, and n. 11. This makes a sword out of a shield. The “presumption” the Government refers to has been applied to refute the assertion of mootness by a defendant who, when sued in a complaint that alleges present or threatened injury, ceases the eomplained-of activity. See, e.g., United States v. W. T. Grant Co.,
•J’
Having found that none of the relief sought by respondent would likely remedy its alleged injury in fact, we must conclude that respondent lacks standing to maintain this suit,
The judgment is vacated, and the ease is remanded with instructions to direct that the complaint be dismissed.
It is so ordered.
Notes
Our disposition makes it appropriate to address the approach taken by this substantial body of Court of Appeals precedent. The fact that Justice Stevens’ concurrence takes essentially the same approach makes his contention that this discussion is an “excursion,” and “unnecessary to an explanation” of our decision, post, at 121, particularly puzzling.
Justice Stevens thinks it illogical that a merits question can be given priority over a statutory standing question (National Railroad, Passenger Corp.) and a statutory standing question can be given priority over an Article III question (the cases discussed post, at 115-117), but a merits question cannot be given priority over an Article III question. See post, at 120, n. 12. It seems to us no more illogical than many other “broken dr cíes” that appear in life and the law: that Executive agreements may displace state law, for example, see United States v. Belmont,
Justice Stevens adds three eases to the list of those that might support “hypothetical jurisdiction.” Post, at 121-122, and n. 15. They are all inapposite. In Moor v. County of Alameda,
Our opinion is not motivated, as Justice Stevens suggests, by the more specific separation-of-powers concern that this citizen's suit “somehow interferes with the Executive’s power to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ Art. II, §3,” post, at 129. The courts must stay within their constitutionally prescribed sphere of action, whether or not exceeding that sphere will harm one of the other two branches. This case calls for nothing more than a straightforward application of our standing jurisprudence, which, though it may sometimes have an impact on Presidential powers, derives from Article III and not Article II.
Contrary to Justice Stevens’ belief that'redressability “is a judicial creation of the past 25 years,” post, at 124, the concept has been ingrained in our jurisprudence from the beginning. Although we have packaged the requirements of constitutional “case” or “controversy” somewhat differently in the past 25 years — an era rich in three-part tests — the point has always been the same: whether a plaintiff “personally would benefit in a tangible way from the court’s intervention.” Warth,
Also contrary to Justice Stevens’ unprecedented suggestion, post, at 125, redressability — like the other prongs of the standing inquiry — does not depend on the defendant’s status as a governmental entity. There is no conceivable reason why it should. If it is true, as Justice Stevens claims, that all of the eases in which the Court has denied standing because of a lack of redressability happened to involve government action or inaction, that would be unsurprising. Suits that promise no concrete benefit to the plaintiff, and that are brought to have us “determine questions of law in thesi,” Marye, supra, at 330, are most often inspired by the psychological smart of perceived official injustice, or by the government-policy
EPCRA states that “any person may commence a civil action on his own behalf....” 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a)(1) (emphasis added). “DP]erson” includes an association, see § 11049(7), so it is arguable that the statute permits respondent to vindicate only its own interests as an organization, and not the interests of its individual members. Since it makes no difference to our disposition of the case, we assume without deciding that the interests of individual members may be the basis of suit.
Justice Stevens claims that redressability was found lacking in our prior cases because the relief required action by a party not before the Court. Post, at 125-126. Even if that were so, it would not prove that redressability is lacking only when relief depends on the actions of a third party. But in any event, Justice Stevens has overlooked decisions that destroy his premise. See Los Angeles v. Lyons,
Section 326(f) reads: “The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to the prevailing or the substantially prevailing party whenever the court determines such an award is appropriate.” 42 U. S. C. § 11046(f).
Justice Stevens contends, post, at 123-124, n. 16, that this argument involves us in a construction of the statute, and thus belies our insistence that jurisdictional issues be resolved first. It involves us in a construction of the statute only to the extent of rejecting as frivolous the contention that costs incurred for respondent’s own purposes, not in preparation for litigation (and hence sufficient to support Article III standing), are nonetheless “costs of litigation” under the statute. As we have described earlier, our cases make clear that frivolous claims are themselves a jurisdictional defect. See supra, at 89.
Concurrence Opinion
with whom Justice Kennedy joins, concurring.
I join the Court’s opinion. I agree that our precedent supports the Court’s holding that respondent lacks Article III standing because its injuries cannot be redressed by a judgment that would, in effect, require only the payment of penalties to the United States Treasury. As the Court notes, ante, at 108, had respondent alleged a continuing or imminent violation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), 42 U. S. C. § 11046, the requested injunctive relief may well have redressed the asserted injury.
I also agree with the Court’s statement that federal courts should be certain of their jurisdiction before reaching the merits of a case. As the Court acknowledges, however, several of our decisions “have diluted the absolute purity of the rule that Article III jurisdiction is always an antecedent question.” Ante, at 101. The opinion of the Court adequately describes why the assumption of jurisdiction was defensible in those cases, see ante, at 98-100, and why it is not in this case, see ante, at 92-93. I write separately to note that, in my view, the Court’s opinion should not be read as cataloging an exhaustive list of circumstances under which federal courts may exercise judgment in “reserving] difficult questions of . . . jurisdiction when the case alternatively
Concurrence Opinion
concurring in part and concurring in the judgment,
I agree with the Court that the respondent in this case lacks Article III standing. I further agree that federal courts often, and typically should, decide standing questions at the outset of a case. That order of decision (first jurisdiction then the merits) helps better to restrict the use of the federal courts to those adversarial disputes that Article III defines as the federal judiciary’s business. But my qualifying words “often” and “typically” are important. The Constitution, in my view, does not require us to replace those words with the word “always.” The Constitution does not impose a rigid judicial “order of operations,” when doing so would cause serious practical problems.
This Court has previously made clear that courts may “re-serv[e] difficult questions of . . . jurisdiction when the case alternatively could be resolved on the merits in favor of the same party.” Norton v. Mathews,
For this reason, I would not make the ordinary sequence an absolute requirement. Nor, even though the case before us is ordinary, not exceptional, would I simply reserve judgment about the matter. Ante, at 110-111 (O’Connor, J., concurring). I therefore join only Parts I and IV of the Court’s opinion.
Concurrence Opinion
with whom Justice Souter joins as to Parts I, III, and IV, and with whom Justice Ginsburg joins as to Part III, concurring in the judgment.
This case presents two questions: (1) whether the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), 42 U. S. C. § 11001 et seq., confers federal jurisdiction over citizen suits for wholly past violations; and (2) if so, whether respondent has standing under Article III of the Constitution. The Court has elected to decide the constitutional question first and, in doing so, has created new constitutional law. Because it is always prudent to avoid passing unnecessarily on an undecided constitutional question, see Ashwander v. TVA,
I
The statutory issue in this case can be viewed in one of two ways: whether EPCRA confers “jurisdiction” over citizen suits for wholly past violations, or whether the statute
EPCRA frames the question in terms of “jurisdiction.” Section 326(c) states:
“The district court shall have jurisdiction in actions brought under [§ 326(a)] against an owner or operator of a facility to enforce the requirement concerned and to impose any civil penalty provided for violation of that requirement.” 42 U. S. C. § 11046(e).
Thus, if § 326(a) authorizes citizen suits for wholly past violations, the district court has jurisdiction over these actions; if it does not, the court lacks jurisdiction.
Given the text of the statute, it is not surprising that the parties and the District Court framed the question in jurisdictional terms. Respondent’s complaint alleged that the District Court had “subject matter jurisdiction under Section 326(a) of EPCRA, 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a).” App. 3. The merits questions that were raised by respondent’s complaint were whether Steel Company violated EPCRA and, if so, what relief should be granted. The District Court, however, made no ruling on the merits when it granted Steel Company’s motion to dismiss. It held that dismissal was required because respondent had merely alleged “a failure to timely file the required reports, a violation of the Act for which there is no jurisdiction for a citizen suit.” App. to Pet. for Cert. A26.
The threshold issue concerning the meaning of § 326 is virtually identical to the question that we decided in Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.,
“In this case, we must decide whether § 505(a) of the Clean Water Act, also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U. S. C. § 1365(a), confers federal jurisdiction over citizen suits for wholly past violations.” Id., at 52.
See also Block v. Community Nutrition Institute,
We have routinely held that when presented with two jurisdictional questions, the Court may choose which one to answer first. In Sierra Club v. Morton,
'Where . . . Congress has authorized public officials to perform certain functions according to law, and has provided by statute for judicial review of those actions under certain circumstances, the inquiry as to standing must begin with a determination of whether the statute in question authorizes review at the behest of the plaintiff.” Id., at 732 (emphasis added).
The Court concluded that petitioner lacked standing under the statute, id., at 732-741, and, therefore, did not need to
Similarly, in Block v. Community Nutrition Institute,
Finally, in Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood,
“The issue [of the meaning of §812] is a critical one, for if the District Court correctly understood and applied § 812 [in denying respondents standing under the statute], we do not reach the question whether the minimum requirements of Art. Ill have been satisfied. If the Court of Appeals is correct [in holding that respondents have statutory standing], however, then the constitutional question is squarely presented.” Id., at 101.
See also Bennett v. Spear,
Rather than framing the question in terms of “jurisdiction,” it is also possible to characterize the statutory issue in this ease as whether respondent’s complaint states a “cause
National Railroad Passenger Corp. also makes it clear that we have the power to decide this question before addressing other threshold issues. In that case, we were faced with the interrelated questions of “whether the Amtrak Act can be read to create a private right of action to enforce compliance with its provisions; whether a federal district court has jurisdiction under the terms of the Act to entertain such a suit [under 28 U. S. C. § 1337
*120 “[HJowever phrased, the threshold question clearly is whether the Amtrak Act or any other provision of law creates a cause of action whereby a private party such as the respondent can enforce duties and obligations imposed by the Act; for it is only if such a right of action exists that we need consider whether the respondent had standing to bring the action and whether the District Court had jurisdiction to entertain it.” Id., at 456 (emphasis added).11
After determining that there was no cause of action under the statute, the Court concluded: “Since we hold that no right of action exists, questions of standing and jurisdiction become immaterial.” Id., at 465, n. 13.
Thus, regardless of whether we characterize this issue in terms of “jurisdiction” or “causes of action,” the Court clearly has the power to address the statutory question first. Gwaltney itself powerfully demonstrates this point. As noted, that case involved a statutory question virtually identical to the one presented here — whether the statute permitted citizens to sue for wholly past violations. While the Court framed the question as one of “jurisdiction,” supra, at 114, it could also be said that the case presented the question whether the plaintiffs had a “cause of action.” Regardless of the label, the Court resolved the statutory question without pausing to consider whether the plaintiffs had standing
The Court disagrees, arguing that the standing question must be addressed first. Ironically, however, before “first” addressing standing, the Court takes a long excursion that entirely loses sight of the basic reason why standing is a matter of such importance to the proper functioning of the judicial process. The “gist of the question of standing” is whether plaintiffs have “alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions.”
I — < I — H
There is an important reason for addressing the statutory-question first: to avoid unnecessarily passing on an undecided constitutional question. New York Transit Authority v. Beazer,
The Court’s conclusion that respondent does not have standing comes from a mechanistic application of the “re-dressability” aspect of our standing doctrine. “Redressability,” of course, does not appear anywhere in the text of the Constitution. Instead, it is a judicial creation of the past 25 years, see Simon v. Eastern Ky. Welfare Rights Organization,
In addition, in every other case in which this Court has held that there is no standing because of a lack of redress-ability, the injury to the plaintiff by the defendant was indirect (e. g., dependent on the action of a third party). This is true in the two eases that the Court cites for the “redress-ability” prong, ante, at 103; see also Simon,
When one private party is injured by another, the injury can be redressed in at least two ways: by awarding compensatory damages or by imposing a sanction on the wrongdoer that will minimize the risk that the harm-causing conduct will be repeated. Thus, in some cases a tort is redressed by an award of punitive damages; even when such damages are payable to the sovereign, they provide a form of redress for the individual as well.
History supports the proposition that punishment or deterrence can redress an injury. In past centuries in England,
The Court's expanded interpretation of the redressability requirement has another consequence. Under EPCRA,
It could be argued that the Court’s decision is rooted in another separation-of-powers concern: that this citizen suit somehow interferes with the Executive’s power to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” Art. II, §3. It is hard to see, however, how EPCRA’s citizen-suit provision impinges on the power of the Executive. As an initial matter, this is not a ease in which respondent merely possesses the “ ‘undifferentiated public interest’ ” in seeing EPCRA enforced. Ante, at 106; see also Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
Moreover, under the Court’s own reasoning, respondent would have had standing if Congress had authorized some payment to respondent. Ante, at 106 (“[T]he civil penalties authorized by the statute . . . might be viewed as a sort of compensation or redress to respondent if they were payable to respondent”). This conclusion is unexceptional given that respondent has a more particularized interest than a plaintiff in a qui tarn suit, an action that is deeply rooted in our history. United States ex rel. Marcus v. Hess,
Yet it is unclear why the separation-of-powers question should turn on whether the plaintiff receives monetary compensation. In either instance, a private citizen is enforcing the law. If separation of powers does not preclude standing when Congress creates a legal right that authorizes compensation to the plaintiff, it is unclear why separation of powers should dictate a contrary result when Congress has created a legal right but has directed that payment be made to the Federal Treasury.
Indeed, in this case (assuming for present purposes that respondent correctly reads the statute) not only has Congress authorized standing, but the Executive Branch has also endorsed its interpretation of Article III. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 7-30. It is this Court’s decision, not anything that Congress or the Executive has done, that encroaches on the domain of other branches of the Federal Government.
III
EPCRA’s citizen-suit provision states, in relevant part:
“[A]ny person may commence a civil action on his own behalf against... [a]n owner or operator of a facility for failure to do any of the following: . . . Complete and submit an inventory form under section 11022(a) of this title . .. [or] [cjomplete and submit a toxic chemical release form under section 11023(a) of this title.” 42 U. S. C. §§11046(a)(1)(A)(iiiMiv).
Unfortunately, this language is ambiguous. It could mean, as the Sixth Circuit has held, that a citizen only has the right to sue for a “failure ... to complete and submit” the required forms. Under this reading, once the owner or operator has filed the forms, the district court no longer has jurisdiction. Atlantic States Legal Foundation v. United Musical,
“[T]he purpose of notice to the alleged violator is to give it an opportunity to bring itself into complete compliance with the Act and thus likewise render unnecessary a citizen suit. If we assume, as respondents urge, that citizen suits may target wholly past violations, the requirement of notice to the alleged violator becomes gratuitous. Indeed, respondents, in propounding their interpretation of the Act, can think of no reason for Congress to require such notice other than that 'it seemed right’ to inform an alleged violator that it was about to be sued. Brief for Respondents 14.”484 U. S., at 60 .
Second, EPCRA places a ban on citizen suits once EPA has commenced an enforcement action. 42 U. S C. § 11046(e).
*133 “The bar on citizen suits when governmental enforcement action is under way suggests that the citizen suit is meant to supplement rather than supplant governmental action. . . . Permitting citizen suits for wholly past violations of the Act could undermine the supplementary role envisioned for the citizen suit. This danger is best illustrated by an example. Suppose that the Administrator identified a violator of the Act and issued a compliance order .... Suppose further that the Administrator agreed not to assess or otherwise seek civil penalties on the condition that the violator take some extreme corrective action, such as to install particularly effective but expensive machinery, that it otherwise would not be obliged to take. If citizens could file suit, months or years later, in order to seek the civil penalties that the Administrator chose to forgo, then the Administrator’s discretion to enforce the Act in the public interest would be curtailed considerably. The same might be said of the discretion of state enforcement authorities. Respondents’ interpretation of the scope of the citizen suit would change the nature of the citizens’ role from interstitial to potentially intrusive.”484 U. S., at 60-61 .
Finally, even if these two provisions did not resolve the issue, our settled policy of adopting acceptable constructions of statutory provisions in order to avoid the unnecessary adjudication of constitutional questions — here, the unresolved standing question — strongly supports a construction of the statute that does not authorize suits for wholly past violations. As we stated in Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Constr. Trades Council,
IV
For these reasons, I concur in the Court’s judgment, but do not join its opinion.
Congress has authorized citizen suits to enforce the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986, 42 U. S. C. § 11001 et seq. Does that authorization, as Congress designed it, permit citizen suits for wholly past violations? For the reasons stated by Justice Stevens in Part III of his opinion, I agree that the answer is “No.” I would follow the path this Court marked in Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc.,
See also Don’t Waste Arizona, Inc. v. McLane Foods, Inc.,
Brief for Petitioner 12 (“A statute conferring jurisdiction on the federal courts should ... be strictly construed, and any doubts resolved against jurisdiction. Here there are serious doubts that Congress intended citizens to sue for past EPCRA violations, and all citizen plaintiffs can highlight is a slight difference in language and attempt to stretch that difference into federal jurisdiction”); see also id., at 26, 30.
Gwaltney contended that “because its last recorded violation occurred several weeks before respondents filed their complaint, the District Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over respondents’ action.” Gwaltney,
Brief for Petitioners in Block v. Community Nutrition Institute, O. T. 1983, No. 83-458, pp. 32-50 (arguing that respondents failed to meet the injury-in-fact and redressability requirements of Article III); see also Brief for Respondents in Block v. Community Nutrition Institute, O. T. 1983, No. 83-458, pp. 17-28; Reply Brief for Petitioners in Block v. Community Nutrition Institute, O. T. 1983, No. 83-458, pp. 15-17.
As Justice Cardozo stated, “ ‘ “cause of action” may mean one thing for one purpose and something different for another.’” Davis v. Passman,
“Jurisdiction ... is not defeated ... by the possibility that the aver-ments might fail to state a cause of action on which petitioners could actually recover.” Bell,
In Bell, a precursor to Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents,
The Court incorrectly states that I “used to understand the fundamental distinction between arguing no cause of action and arguing no Article III redressability,” ante, at 96. The Court gives me too much credit. I have never understood any fundamental difference between arguing: (1) plaintiff’s complaint does not allege a cause of action because the law does “not provide a remedy” for the plaintiff’s injury; and (2) plaintiff’s injury is “not redressable.” In Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency,
Section 1337 states, in relevant part: “[Djistrict courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action or proceeding arising under any Act of Congress regulating commerce or protecting trade and commerce against restraints and monopolies.” 28 U. S. C. § 1337(a); see also Potomac Passengers Assn. v. Chesapeake & Ohio R. Co.,
The Court distinguished this “threshold question” from respondent’s claim “on the merits,” id., at 455, n. 3.
In insisting that the Article III standing question must be answered first, the Court finds itself in a logical dilemma. For if “A” (whether a cause of action exists) can be decided before “B” (whether there is statutory standing), id., at 456, 465, n. 13; and if “B” (whether there is statutory standing) can be decided before “C” (whether there is Article III standing), e. g., Block v. Community Nutrition Institute,
In Gwaltney, in addition to answering the question whether the statute confers jurisdiction over citizen suits for wholly past violations, we considered whether the allegation of ongoing injury sufficed to support jurisdiction. The fact that we discussed “standing” in connection with that secondary issue,
Baker v. Carr,
The Court boldly distinguishes away no fewer than five of our precedents. In each of these five cases, the Court avoided deciding a jurisdictional issue by assuming that jurisdiction existed for the purpose of that case. In Norton v. Mathews,
“It... is evident that, whichever disposition we undertake, the effect is the same. It follows that there is no need to decide the theoretical question of jurisdiction in this case. In the past, we similarly have- reserved difficult questions of our jurisdiction when the case alternatively could be resolved on the merits in favor of the same party. See Secretary of the Navy v. Avrech,
See also Philbrook v. Glodgett,
Moreover, in addition to the five eases that the Court distinguishes, there are other eases that support the notion that a court can assume jurisdiction. See, e. g., Moor v. County of Alameda,
Because this case involves a choice between two threshold questions that are intricately interrelated, I do not take a position on the propriety of courts assuming jurisdiction. Nonetheless, I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision to reach out and decide this question, especially in light of the fact that we have not had the benefit of briefing and argument. See Philbrook,
Indeed, the Court acknowledges — as it must — that the Court has the power to construe the statute, as it is impossible to resolve the standing issue without construing some provisions of EPCRA. Thus, in order to determine whether respondent’s investigation and prosecution costs are sufficient to confer standing, the Court construes § 326(f) of EPCRA, which authorizes the district .court to “award costs of litigation” to the prevailing party. Ante, at 107-108. Yet if § 326(f) were construed to
There are two other reasons that counsel in favor of answering the statutory question first. First, it is the statutory question that has divided the courts of appeals and that we granted certiorari to resolve. See Pet. for Cert. i. Second, the meaning of the statute is a matter of general and national importance, whereas the Court's answer to the constitutional question depends largely on a construction of the allegations of this particular complaint, ante, at 104 (“We turn now to the particulars of respondent’s complaint to see how it measures up to Article Ill’s requirements”).
In an attempt to demonstrate that redressability has always been a component of the standing doctrine, the Court cites our decision in Marye v. Parsons,
Although the Court discussed redressability, Renne did not in fact turn on that issue. While the Court stated that “[tjhere is reason to doubt . . . that the injury alleged . . . can be redressed” by the relief sought,
This distinction is significant, as our standing doctrine is rooted in separation-of-powers concerns. E. g., Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
“It is an established principle that to entitle a private individual to invoke the judicial power to determine the validity of executive or legislative action he must show that he has sustained or is immediately in danger of sustaining a direct injury as the result of that action . .. .” Ex parte Lévitt,
Assuming that EPGRA authorizes suits for wholly past violations, then Congress has created a legal right in having EPCRA reports filed on time. Although this is not a traditional injury:
“[W]e must be sensitive to the articulation of new rights of action that do not have clear analogs in our common-law tradition.... Congress has the power to define injuries and articulate chains of causation that will give rise to a case or controversy where none existed before .. ..” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife,
In another context, the Court has specified that there is a critical distinction between whether a defendant is directly or indirectly harmed. In Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, a case involving a challenge to Executive action, the Court stated:
“Several scholars have attempted to trace the historical origins of private prosecution in the United States. Without exception, these scholars have determined that the notion of private prosecutions originated in
“American citizens continued to privately prosecute criminal cases in many locales during the nineteenth century. In Philadelphia, for example, all types of cases were privately prosecuted, with assault and battery prosecutions being the most common. However, domestic disputes short of assault also came before the court. Thus, ‘parents of young women prosecuted men for seduction; husbands prosecuted their wives’ paramours for adultery; wives prosecuted their husbands for desertion.’ Although many state courts continued to sanction the practice of private prosecutions without significant scrutiny during the nineteenth century, a few state courts outlawed the practice.” Id., at 518-519 (footnotes omitted); A. Steinberg, The Transformation of Criminal Justice: Philadelphia, 1800-1880, p. 5 (1989) (“Private prosecution and the minor judiciary were firmly rooted in Philadelphia’s colonial past. Both were examples of the creative American adaptation of the English common law. By the 17th century, private prosecution was a fundamental part of English common law”); see also F. Goodnow, Principles of the Administrative Law of the United States 412-413 (1905).
When such a party obtains a judgment that imposes sanctions on the wrongdoer, it is proper to presume that the wrongdoer will be less likely to repeat the injurious conduct that prompted the litigation. The lessening of the risk of future harm is a concrete benefit.
Ironically, although the Court insists that the standing question must be answered first, it relies on the merits when it answers the standing question. Proof that Steel Company repeatedly violated the law by failing to file EPCRA reports for eight years should suffice to establish the District Court’s power to impose sanctions, or at least to decide what sanction, if any, is appropriate. Evidence that Steel Company was ignorant of the law and has taken steps to avoid future violations is highly relevant to the merits of the question whether any remedy is necessary, but surely does not deprive the District Court of the power to decide the
“No action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section prior to 60 days after the plaintiff has given notice of the alleged violation to the Administrator, the State in which the alleged violation occurs, and the alleged violator. Notice under this paragraph shall be given in such manner as the Administrator shall prescribe by regulation.”
“No action may be commenced under subsection (a) of this section against an owner or operator of a facility if the Administrator has commenced and is diligently pursuing an administrative order or civil action to enforce the requirement concerned or to impose a civil penalty under this Act with respect to the violation of the requirement.”