UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF REPTILE KEEPERS, INC., Plaintiff, v. The Honorable Sally JEWELL, et al., Defendants.
Civil Action No. 13-2007 (RDM)
United States District Court, District of Columbia.
Signed May 12, 2015
103 F. Supp. 3d 133
Clare Marie Boronow, Meredith L. Flax, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
RANDOLPH D. MOSS, United States District Judge
The Department of the Interior undeniably has the authority to prohibit the importation of species of wild animals deemed by the Congress or the Department to be injurious to human beings, agriculture, horticulture, forestry or other wildlife. This case presents the question whether Congress has also authorized the Interior Department to ban the interstate transportation of these “injurious species.” The case addresses, in particular, whether the Department acted within its authority when it issued regulations purporting to prohibit the interstate transportation of certain species of large constricting snakes, including the reticulated python, which can grow to over 20 feet in length, and the green anaconda, which is almost certainly the heaviest snake in the world. Ultimately, however, the scope of the Interior Department‘s authority to regulate the interstate transportation of “injurious species” depends on the history of the zebra mussel, which is a mollusk about the size of a quarter, and the bighead carp, which is a freshwater fish with a voracious appetite. For the reasons explained below, Defendants have failed to establish at this point in the litigation that this history is sufficient to confer an authority on the Department that Congress did not confer when it enacted the controlling statutory text.
Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction (Dkt.28). Plaintiffs seek an order enjoining the Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (collectively, “Defendants“) from implementing the final rule promulgated on March 10, 2015, which adds four species of constricting snakes to the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act,
This action challenges rules promulgated by the Department of the Interior (“Department“) that prohibit the importation and interstate transportation of certain species of constricting snakes. In 2010, the Department proposed a rule listing nine constricting snake species as “injurious” under the Lacey Act,
On January 23, 2012, after a notice and comment period, the Department issued a final rule listing four of the nine species as “injurious.” 77 Fed.Reg. 3330 (Jan. 23, 2012) (the “2012 Rule“). The rule prohibited “the importation into the United States and interstate transportation between States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States of any live animal, gamete, viable egg, or hybrid” of those four snakes.
The United States Association of Reptile Keepers (“USARK“) filed this lawsuit on December 18, 2013. On May 9, 2014, with leave of the Court, USARK filed an amended complaint alleging (1) that the ban on interstate transportation of listed species in the 2012 Rule exceeded the Interior Department‘s powers under the Lacey Act (Dkt. 21 ¶¶ 78-84); (2) that the 2012 Rule failed to comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA“) (Dkt. 21 ¶¶ 85-94); and (3) that in promulgating the 2012 Rule the Department of the Interior abused its discretion and acted arbitrarily and capriciously (Dkt. 21 ¶¶ 95-97). Defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint (Dkt.22).
On March 10, 2015, the Interior Department promulgated another final rule listing four additional constricting snake species---the reticulated python, DeSchauensee‘s anaconda, green anaconda, and Beni anaconda---as “injurious.” 80 Fed.Reg. 12702 (Mar. 10, 2015) (the “2015 Rule“). Like the 2012 Rule, the 2015 Rule prohibited both “importation” and “interstate transportation between States” of the newly listed species.1
USARK moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint on March 23, 2015. Dkt. 27. The Second Amended Complaint challenges both the 2012 and 2015 Rules. In addition to the arguments raised in the First Amended Complaint, it alleges that the Rules’ prohibition on interstate transportation of listed snakes impermissibly burdens snake owners’ constitutional right to travel (Dkt. 38 ¶¶ 109-117) and that the Interior Department failed to satisfy the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act,
On April 1, 2015, Plaintiffs filed an Application for Temporary Restraining Order. Dkt. 28 (“TRO Application“). The TRO Application sought to enjoin implementation of the 2015 Rule. Plaintiffs argued that they are likely to prevail on the merits based on their statutory construction and Regulatory Flexibility Act arguments.2 They further argued that the individual plaintiffs and members of USARK will suffer irreparable harm if the 2015 Rule takes effect. The TRO Application addressed only the reticulated python and green anaconda; Plaintiffs acknowledge that “[t]he other two species” listed in the 2015 Rule, “the Beni and DeSchauensee‘s anaconda, are not even found in the United States, in trade or otherwise.”
LEGAL STANDARD
To prevail on a motion for a preliminary injunction, the party seeking relief must show “(1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) that the moving party would suffer irreparable injury if the relief were not granted; (3) that the balance of equities tips in the movant‘s favor; and (4) that an injunction is in the public interest.” EDF Res. Capital, Inc. v. U.S. Small Bus. Admin., 910 F.Supp.2d 280, 283 (D.D.C.2012) (citing Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches v. England, 454 F.3d 290, 297 (D.C.Cir.2006)). The Court of Appeals for this Circuit long evaluated these factors on a “sliding scale.” E.g., Davenport v. Int‘l Bhd. of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, 166 F.3d 356, 360-61 (D.C.Cir.1999). It has recently read the Supreme Court‘s decision in Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008),
DISCUSSION
I. Likelihood of Success on the Merits
Plaintiffs rely on their statutory construction and Regulatory Flexibility Act claims in their attempt to show that they are likely to succeed on the merits. Because the Court concludes that there is a substantial likelihood that Plaintiffs will prevail on their statutory construction claim, Plaintiffs have satisfied this prong of the preliminary injunction test.
A. Plaintiffs’ Statutory Construction Claim
The crux of Plaintiffs’ statutory construction claim is their contention that, with the exception of Hawaii, the Lacey Act does not prohibit interstate shipment of species listed as “injurious” by the Department of the Interior. Defendants dispute this contention, and further argue that Plaintiffs’ claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
1. The Statute of Limitations
Defendants argue, as a threshold matter, that the Court lacks jurisdiction to review Plaintiffs’ statutory construction claim because that claim is time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations in
This argument has a serious flaw. The 1965 Regulations do not “interpret” the Lacey Act‘s language governing transportation of listed species within the territory of the United States; they simply copy the relevant language. Compare 50 C.F.R. § 16.3 (“the transportation of live wildlife or eggs thereof between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States by any means whatsoever, is prohibited ...“) with
As a fallback position, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ claim accrued either when the Department first interpreted the Lacey Act to bar interstate transportation of a listed species (1989) or when the Fish and Wildlife Service first issued a rule purporting to bar interstate transportation of a reptile species (1990)----ostensibly the first point at which USARK might have had organizational standing to challenge the rule.5 See 54 Fed.Reg. 22286, 22,287 (May 23, 1989); 55 Fed.Reg. 17439, 17440 (Apr. 25, 1990).
Defendants offer no convincing reason to treat these prior rules, rather than the 2012 and 2015 Rules, as the agency actions triggering the running of the limitation period under § 2401. The limitation period under § 2401 begins to run on the date of the “final agency action,” Harris v. FAA, 353 F.3d 1006, 1010 (D.C.Cir.2004), which the Court of Appeals defines as “one by which rights or obligations have been determined or from which legal consequences will flow,” Mendoza v. Perez, 754 F.3d 1002, 1018 (D.C.Cir.2014) (quotation marks omitted). “[A]n agency‘s renewal of an earlier decision [that] does not alter the status quo,” however, will not “restart the statute of limitations.” Mendoza, 754 F.3d at 1018. The question, then, is whether the 2012 and 2015 Rules were final agency actions that altered the status quo. Plainly, they were. The Rules determined the rights of persons in the United States to transport animals of the listed species domestically and internationally, and the restrictions they imposed did not exist before the final Rules took effect. A plaintiff who could lawfully transport reticulated pythons or green anacondas across state lines in 2009 now cannot do so. The agency‘s actions that made that so triggered the start of the six-year limitation period here. See id. at 1019 (holding that regulations that had “long existed” as to shepherds and goatherds re-started the limitation period when they were extended to reach cattle herders).
Moreover, if a rule targeting a different species could start the limitation period under these circumstances, the Interior Department could easily avoid facial review of new statutory interpretations. The Department could simply announce a new interpretation with respect to a listed species not present in the United States (like, for example, the Beni or DeSchauensee‘s anacondas), allow the six-year limita-
Finally, the Court notes that even were Defendants correct that the final agency action establishing the Interior Department‘s interpretation of the relevant statutory language took place more than six years before Plaintiffs brought suit, the Department‘s subsequent actions would render this lawsuit timely because the Department re-opened the issue. “[A]n agency has reopened a previously decided issue in a case where the agency (1) proposed to make some change in its rules or policies, (2) called for comments only on new or changed provisions, but at the same time (3) explained the unchanged, republished portions, and (4) responded to at least one comment aimed at the previously decided issue.” Public Citizen v. NRC, 901 F.2d 147, 150 (D.C.Cir.1990). Here, the Department clearly “proposed to make some change in its rules or policies” when it issued its proposed rule in 2010. See 75 Fed.Reg. 11808 (Mar 12, 2010). The proposed rule “called for comments” on the listing of constrictor species under the Lacey Act. See
Because the final agency action at issue was the promulgation of the 2015 Rule, and, in any event, that Rule re-opened the question whether the Department‘s interpretation of the relevant Lacey Act provision is correct, this suit was timely filed.
2. Interpretation of the Lacey Act
Plaintiffs allege that, by prohibiting interstate transportation of listed snakes, the 2012 and 2015 Rules exceed the authority granted to the Secretary under the Lacey Act. The relevant statutory language states:
The importation into the United States, any territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States, or any shipment between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States, of [certain enumerated species] and such other species of wild mammals, wild birds, fish (including mollusks and crustacea), am-
phibians, reptiles, brown tree snakes, or the offspring or eggs of any of the foregoing which the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe by regulation to be injurious to human beings, to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States, is hereby prohibited.
In response, Defendants argue that the Interior Department interpretation is compelled by the plain language of the statute and bolstered by subsequent congressional actions, and, in the alternative, that it is entitled to deference under Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984).
a. Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council
Under the framework set out in Chevron, a court reviewing an agency‘s interpretation of a statute first asks “whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue.” Id. at 842. “If the intent of Congress is clear, that is the end of the matter.” Id. However, if “Congress has not directly addressed the precise question at issue ... the question for the court is whether the agency‘s answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.” Id. at 843. The principle in Chevron is “rooted in a background presumption ... ‘that Congress, when it left ambiguity in a statute’ administered by an agency, understood that the ambiguity would be resolved, first and foremost, by the agency, and desired the agency (rather than the courts) to possess whatever degree of discretion the ambiguity allows.‘” City of Arlington, Tex. v. FCC, --- U.S. ---, 133 S.Ct. 1863, 1868, --- L.Ed.2d --- (2013) (quoting Smiley v. Citibank (S.D.), N.A., 517 U.S. 735, 740-41, 116 S.Ct. 1730, 135 L.Ed.2d 25 (1996)).
There is significant reason to doubt, however, whether Chevron applies in this context. The Lacey Act is a criminal statute, see
The Court of Appeals has not yet addressed the Supreme Court‘s recent statements suggesting that Chevron deference does not apply to agency interpretations of criminal statutes. On at least two occasions before the Supreme Court‘s decision in Apel and Abramski, it did apply Chevron to agency interpretations of statutes that imposed criminal penalties. See United States v. Kanchanalak, 192 F.3d 1037, 1047 (D.C.Cir.1999) (in a criminal case, applying Chevron and deferring to FEC‘s interpretation of statute regulating foreign soft money contributions); In re Sealed Case, 223 F.3d 775, 780 (D.C.Cir.2000) (in a criminal case, applying Chevron deference to reject statutory interpretation that had been rejected by the FEC). Although it is not clear whether the Court of Appeals would follow this practice after Apel and Abramski, there is no need to reach that question here. Rather, as explained below, the Court concludes that, when Congress amended the Lacey Act in 1960, it did not leave an ambiguity or gap for the Interior Department to fill on the fundamental question whether the Act applies to all interstate shipments of listed species or merely shipments between the continental United States and other portions of the territorial United States. Thus, regardless whether Chevron applies, Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on this claim.
b. Plain Meaning of the Statute
Whether proceeding under Chevron or not, the Court must “exhaust the traditional tools of statutory construction to determine” the plain language of the statute, including “examination of the statute‘s text, legislative history, and structure, as well as its purpose.” Petit v. U.S. Dept. of Educ., 675 F.3d 769, 781 (D.C.Cir.2012) (quotation marks omitted). This inquiry “begins where all such inquiries must begin: with the language of the statute itself.” United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 241, 109 S.Ct. 1026, 103 L.Ed.2d 290 (1989). Here, the statutory phrase “any shipment between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States” does not, standing alone, compel either side‘s interpretation. The jarring juxtaposition of “between” and “or” renders the whole statement grammatically confounding, and neither party‘s plain-language argument settles the question.
Plaintiffs, for example, could make a strong case that the statute targeted only the spread of invasive species between “the continental United States” and its insular state and territories---areas whose unique biodiversity could be threatened by imports from “the continental United States,” and vice-versa. In this view, the “continental United States” is a single, undifferentiated entity-the portion of the United States located on the North American continent. On this reading, though, the separate inclusion of the District of Columbia is baffling. It is unclear why transportation of injurious species between Maryland and the District would merit prohibition while transportation of the same species from Maryland to Virginia could persist unabated. And although Plaintiffs point to other statutes referring to transportation “between the continental
Defendants’ interpretation, on the other hand, treats the “continental United States” as a set of separate entities between which transportation may be prohibited. This interpretation avoids the problems noted above, but creates difficulties of its own. Congress could easily have used much clearer language if it wished to bar all interstate transportation of listed species. And, even though Hawaii had only recently become a State, it is puzzling that in 1960, Congress listed the “continental United States” and Hawaii separately, rather than simply referring to transportation between the “States.”
The problem with Defendants’ position is heightened by the fact that Congress used very different language to prohibit the interstate transportation of certain wildlife species in another provision of the 1960 Lacey Act amendments. Amending former
Whoever delivers, carries, transports, ships, by any means whatever, or knowingly receives for shipment, to or from any State, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any possession of the United States, or any foreign country [.]
Pub.L. 86-702 (1960) (emphasis added); see Dkt. 31-1 at 13-14. The clear language used to prohibit interstate shipment of listed species under former § 43 strongly suggests that Congress did not intend the prohibition on shipments under § 42 to reach as broadly as Defendants contend. On balance, Plaintiffs thus offer the slightly better reading of the text. Still, in light of the difficulties plaguing both proffered interpretations, the Court concludes that the language of the statute, standing alone, does not conclusively foreclose either of the interpretations advanced here.
Because the language of the Lacey Act does not compel either side‘s interpretation, the Court looks to the statute‘s legislative history to determine its plain meaning. See Petit, 675 F.3d at 781. In this case, the legislative history of the 1960 Lacey Act amendments unambiguously supports Plaintiffs’ position.
The 1960 amendments to the Lacey Act were drafted by the Department of the Interior and forwarded to Congress in early 1960. Dkt. 31-1 at 40. Prior to the 1960 amendments, the Lacey Act prohibited “importation into the United States or any Territory or district thereof” of listed species, but did not address their domestic transportation. See Dkt. 31-1 at 6. A Department of the Interior witness who testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee regarding the proposed amendments spoke directly to the purpose of the proposed language:
Mr. Parker.... And we have broadened the language a bit to prohibit the shipment between the Continental United States and Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the Mongoose, for this reason: Currently, the Mongoose occurs in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands ... and we have no desire to have them introduced in the United States other than under strict regulations.
Dkt. 31-1 at 48 (emphasis added). This explanation supports the conclusion that the relevant language was added to the statute to prevent the spread of invasive species between Hawaii and overseas possessions and the continental United States. Not only did the Interior Department wit-
The Department of the Interior‘s testimony also describes the amendment in terms that avoid the textual ambiguity described above. According to the Department‘s witness, the amendment “prohibit[s] the shipment between the Continental United States and Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.”
Other statements in the legislative history confirm that the language was not intended dramatically to expand the scope of conduct prohibited under the Lacey Act. Before the 1960 amendments, the Lacey Act barred “importation into the United States or, any Territory or district thereof” of listed species, but did not address their domestic transportation. Dkt. 31-1 at 12-13. The Department of the Interior‘s statement describing the draft legislation as “a bill to clarify certain provisions of the criminal code,”
Even more striking is the absence in either the House or Senate Reports of any discussion of whether, or how, the law might apply to purely domestic shipments within the continental United States. When describing which agencies would implement the amendment, the Department of the Interior stated that the Secretary would “establish a permit system,” the Department “would need to check the facilities of applicants for such permits, and also issue the permits,” and “[i]t would fall to the U.S. Customs Service to effect inspection at the points of entry and reject or admit such items on the basis of existing regulations and appropriate related permits.”
The Department‘s testimony also indicates that it was aware that criminal statutes are interpreted narrowly and that it took care when drafting the legislation to speak unambiguously where it intended to expand the scope of prohibited conduct. When discussing amendments to former § 43, which prohibits transportation of species possessed or taken in violation of state or federal law, the Department noted that it “must be borne in mind that the statute is penal in nature and under a well-established rule of construction it must be construed strictly and all reasonable doubts in its interpretation resolved in favor of persons accused of violating its provisions.” Dkt. 31-1 at 45. It strains credulity to imagine that criminal legislation drafted and enacted with this principle in mind would adopt a sweeping expansion of the conduct it prohibited through the (at best) obscure language at issue here, without any mention by the Department of the Interior or the congressional committees of jurisdiction. The Court has been unable to identify any evidence---and Defendants have not pointed to any---that Congress or the Department of the Interior believed in 1960 that the Lacey Act amendments would prohibit all interstate transportation of listed species.
The narrow reach of the 1960 amendments is confirmed, moreover, by the Department of the Interior‘s consistent interpretation in the two decades following their enactment. Beginning in 1973, the Department issued a series of proposals that would have effectively reversed the species-designation procedure under the Lacey Act: Rather than enumerate a list of injurious species, the Interior Department proposed categorizing all species as injurious by default, exempting only those it determined to be “low risk.” See 38 Fed.Reg. 34970 (Dec. 20, 1973). In the course of this rulemaking effort, the Department repeatedly proposed rules that explicitly adopted the narrow reading of the Lacey Act‘s prohibition on shipments of listed species. See 40 Fed.Reg. 7935, 7936 (Feb. 24, 1975) (“Interstate shipments are not affected, except shipments between noncontinental parts of the United States (island ecosystems such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and the continental United States.“); 42 Fed.Reg. 12972, 12974 (Mar. 7, 1977) (“Pursuant to the statute, the proposed regulations would also prohibit the shipment of injurious wildlife between any two of the following geographic areas: the continental United States, the State of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States.“).
A Department representative confirmed this view in a 1974 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment. When asked how the proposed rule would address “the problem of exotic species that are already in this country,” a witness from the Fish and Wildlife Service testified that “there [was] no restriction ... in section 42 of the Lacey Act to interstate shipments, with the possible exception of restrictions from areas off the continental United States, such as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Hawaii.” Dkt. 28-3 at 3. Thus, “the breeder of pheasants, or black buck, or what have you, in the United States [would] not have any restrictions on the movement or possession of the animals that are already present in the United States. The restrictions ... apply to importations.”
The Department of the Interior did not ultimately adopt its injurious-by-default approach in a final rule, but its statements in proposed rules and in testimony before Congress made clear that the Department did not understand the Lacey Act to pro-
c. Subsequent Legislative History
Defendants base their contrary view of the legislative history on developments that took place decades after the language at issue was enacted. At some point in the 1980s, the Interior Department abandoned the interpretation of the relevant language that it had previously presented to Congress and applied for approximately two decades. As noted above, in 1989 the Department began inserting language in rules listing species as injurious that purported to prohibit all interstate transportation of the listed species. See 54 Fed.Reg. 22286, 22287 (May 23, 1989) (“[I]nterstate transportation [of mitten crabs] ... for any purpose not otherwise permitted, would be prohibited.“). This view has been reflected in the legislative history of subsequent amendments to the Lacey Act. In one case, Congress passed a law exempting a water district‘s pipeline from the Lacey Act because the pipeline would transport a listed species across state lines. In two other cases, Congress has passed laws explicitly listing species under the Act based, in part, on at least some members’ understanding that the Act would prohibit interstate transportation of the newly listed species.
i. The 1990 zebra mussel legislation
The Department‘s new view was promptly reflected in the legislative history of an amendment to the Lacey Act. In 1990, Congress passed the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, Pub.L. 101-646, which, among other provisions aimed at limiting the spread of the zebra mussel in the United States, amended
Congress was alarmed that the zebra mussel had, in the two years since it was first discovered in the United States, “spread over a 10,000 square mile area, infesting the Lake Erie shoreline from Detroit to Buffalo.” Dkt. 44-1 at 11 (1990) (statement of Sen. Specter). Zebra mussels are unimposing mollusks about “the size of a quarter.”
Congress also evinced concerns about the spread of the zebra mussel outside the
There is, however, at least one statement in the legislative history of the bill evincing the Department‘s original understanding of the Lacey Act‘s scope. In written testimony on a similar bill introduced in the House of Representatives, the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks stated that “designation of zebra mussels as injurious wildlife” would “have no [e]ffect on the interstate transport of zebra mussels.” Dkt. 50-1 at 32. She made an identical statement in written testimony before a Senate subcommittee. Dkt. 50-2. This is inconsistent with the Interior Department‘s almost-concurrent statements in promulgated rules indicating
that the effect of a listing under the Lacey Act would be to ban interstate transportation of the listed species. See 54 Fed.Reg. 22286, 22287 (May 23, 1989); 55 Fed.Reg. 17439, 17440 (Apr. 25, 1990). It injects at least some uncertainty into the 1990 legislative record.
ii. The 2010 bighead carp legislation
Twenty years after Congress amended the Lacey Act to list the zebra mussel as an injurious species, it enacted the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act to target another invasive species. See Pub.L. 111-307 (2010). Once again, the legislative history of its amendment suggested that Congress understood the Lacey Act to prohibit all interstate transportation of listed species. Bighead carp---a species of Asian carp---can grow to five feet in length and more than 100 pounds, and they eat up to 20 percent of their body weight per day in plankton, depriving native aquatic species of needed nutrients. See, e.g., Margaret E. Vroman, The Asian Carp: An Imminent Threat to the Great Lakes?, 90 Mich. Bar J. 25, 26 (2011). The species was introduced into the United States from China in the 1970s “to eat the algae clotting fish farms in the South,” but “a series of floods over the years helped them to escape their controlled environment.” Dan Barry, On an Infested River, Battling Invaders Eye to Eye, N.Y. Times, September 15, 2008 at A13 (“Cue the ‘Jaws’ theme.“). The species received wary attention as it spread north up the Mississippi river in the decades following its introduction, but concern intensified dramatically after researchers discovered bighead carp DNA “in the Great Lakes vicinity” and past an electric dispersal barrier intended to repel the fish. S. Rep. 111-181 (2010).
These events spawned considerable congressional concern. Representatives noted that “these enormous fish have become
Congress‘s solution to the problem was a single-purpose law designating the bighead carp as an injurious species under the Lacey Act. The legislative history contains a substantial number of statements suggesting that Congress understood the listing would prohibit interstate transportation of bighead carp. The Senate Report states that the legislation would “add the bighead carp ... to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being traded in interstate commerce or imported into the United States.” S. Rep. 111-181 (2010). Representative Conyers described the bill as “prohibit[ing] importation and interstate shipment of certain species of carp and ... add[ing] the bighead variety of the species commonly known as Asian carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped in or imported into the United States.” Dkt. 44-5 at 2. Several other members of Congress made similar statements. See
further harm by prohibiting the importation and interstate transportation of live Asian carp without a permit.“) (statement of Rep. Levin); 155 Cong. Rec. 7319 (2009) (“Listing the Bighead carp as injurious would minimize the risk of intentional introduction by prohibiting the importation and interstate transportation of live Asian carp without a permit“) (statement of Sen. Levin).
Plaintiffs note that other representatives who spoke on the bill did not indicate whether they believed that a listing under the Lacey Act barred interstate transportation of the listed species. See Dkt. 44-5 at 3 (Dec. 1, 2010) (“This legislation takes an important step in restricting the transportation of the Big Head Asian Carp by listing it as an injurious species under the Lacey Act, prohibiting this fish from being shipped or imported into the United States.“) (Statement of Rep. Kaptur);
iii. The 2012 Lake Texoma legislation
A third, more recent legislative development also suggests that recent Congresses have understood the Lacey Act to reach interstate transportation. In 2012, Congress passed a law that exempted certain water transfers between Oklahoma and Texas from the Lacey Act. See Lake
The Water District eventually determined that it would construct a closed pipeline connecting the pumping station on Lake Texoma to a water treatment facility in Texas, “where the zebra mussels w[ould] be completely destroyed.”
dences recent congressional awareness of the Interior Department‘s interpretation of the Lacey Act.
d. Effect of the Subsequent History
The parties disagree about the significance of these post-enactment congressional actions. According to Plaintiffs, the Department of the Interior‘s interpretations of the Lacey Act in the 1970s confirm what Plaintiffs view to be the better reading of the statutory language---that the Act does not bar interstate transportation of listed species within the continental United States. The developments after 1980, in their view, have no interpretative significance. Dkt. 45 at 6. Plaintiffs contend that these events reflect isolated congressional responses to “discrete exigencies,” rather than any intent to re-evaluate the scope of the Lacey Act for all purposes.
In general, “the views of a subsequent Congress form a hazardous basis for inferring the intent of an earlier one.” Public Citizen Health Research Grp. v. FDA, 704 F.2d 1280, 1289 n. 26 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (quoting Consumer Prod. Safety Comm‘n v. GTE Sylvania Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 117, 100 S.Ct. 2051, 64 L.Ed.2d 766 (1980); see also O‘Gilvie v. United States, 519 U.S. 79, 90, 117 S.Ct. 452, 136 L.Ed.2d 454 (1996) (“[T]he view of a later Congress cannot control the interpretation of an earlier enacted statute.“). The actions of a subsequent Congress can, however, inform the meaning of an earlier enacted statute under two narrow circumstances: Congress may ratify an administrative interpretation of a law when it reenacts or substantially amends the earlier enactment, and Congress may repeal or amend a law by implication. Neither approach to interpretation is favored under the law, and both are subject to significant limitations.
i. Ratification
Defendants frame their argument in terms of congressional ratification of the Department of the Interior‘s broad interpretation of the Lacey Act. Under the ratification canon, “Congress is presumed to be aware of an administrative or judicial interpretation of a statute and to adopt that interpretation when it re-enacts a statute without change.” Public Citizen v. FAA, 988 F.2d 186, 194 (D.C. Cir.1993) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Three considerations, however, weigh—to varying degrees—against application of that canon here.
First, the ratification canon is of “little assistance” where Congress has not re-enacted the entire statute at issue or significantly amended the relevant provision. See Public Citizen, Inc. v. Dep‘t of Health and Human Servs., 332 F.3d at 668. As the Supreme Court has explained, “when Congress has not comprehensively revised a statutory scheme but has made only isolated amendments,” a court cannot “assert with any degree of assur
Second, the Supreme Court has cautioned that courts should be “extremely hesitant to presume general congressional awareness of the [agency‘s] construction based only upon a few isolated statements in the thousands of pages of legislative documents.” SEC v. Sloan, 436 U.S. 103, 121, 98 S.Ct. 1702, 56 L.Ed.2d 148 (1978). As the Court explained in TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978), its hesitation to presume congressional awareness in Sloan came against the backdrop of “a 34-year-old practice of the Securities and Exchange Commission,” and “despite the fact that the Senate Committee having jurisdiction over the Commission‘s activities had long expressed approval of the practice.” Id. at 192, 98 S.Ct. 2279 (emphasis omitted); see also Sloan, 436 U.S. at 121, 98 S.Ct. 1702 (“[L]anguage in a Committee Report, without additional indication of more widespread congressional awareness, is simply not sufficient to invoke the presumption in a case such as this.“). Here, although it is clear that many members of Congress were aware of the Interior Department‘s broad construction of the Lacey Act at the time Congress enacted each of the three subsequent statutes—and, indeed, that construction is referenced in committee reports, see S. Rep. 101-523 (1990); S. Rep. 111-181 (2010); H.R. Rep. 112-657 (2012)—the legislative record is not uniform, see Dkt. 50-1 at 32, and, more importantly, the Supreme Court has suggested that even this type of broad awareness of an administrative practice may not be enough for purposes of the ratification canon. The Court need not, however, decide this issue in light of the remaining hurdles Defendants face.
The third difficulty with Defendants’ efforts to invoke the ratification doctrine is the clearest, and it is dispositive. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that “re-enactment cannot save a regulation which contradicts the require
Because the Court has concluded that the meaning of the Lacey Act‘s relevant language was clear at the time of its enactment in 1960, Congress cannot be deemed to have adopted an alternative construction of the statute through ratification, particularly where it did not amend—or even discuss—the relevant language. Applying the ratification doctrine to change the plain meaning of a statute crosses the line from embracing a legitimate interpretation of the law to changing its meaning. Accordingly, the relevant question is not whether Congress ratified the Department of the Interior‘s interpretation but, rather, whether Congress amended the Lacey Act.
ii. Implied amendment
Congress has not changed the relevant language of the Lacey Act since it was enacted in 1960. Thus, the meaning of the phrase “any shipment between the continental United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any possession of the United States” must remain unchanged unless it was implicitly amended when Congress enacted the 1990 (zebra mussels), 2010 (bighead carp) or 2012 (water transfers from Lake Texoma) laws. The hurdle of establishing an amendment by implication, however, is a high one. Although more frequently invoked in the context of implied repeals, the standards are “conceptually identical,” Vill. of Barrington, Ill. v. Surface Transp. Bd., 636 F.3d 650, 661-62 (D.C. Cir. 2011), and “implied amendments are no more favored than implied repeals.” Nat‘l Ass‘n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644, 664 n. 8, 127 S.Ct. 2518, 168 L.Ed.2d 467 (2007). “A new statute will not be read as wholly or even partially amending a prior one unless there exists a positive repugnancy between the provisions of the new and those of the old that cannot be reconciled.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). An amendment or repeal “is to be implied only if necessary to make the (later enacted law) work, and even then only to the minimum extent necessary.” Howard v. Pritzker, 775 F.3d 430, 437 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, “when two statutes are capable of coexistence, it is the duty of the courts, absent a clearly expressed congressional intention to the contrary, to regard each as effective.” Id. (quotation marks omitted); see also Mittleman v. Postal Regulatory Comm‘n, 757 F.3d 300, 306 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (“We will not infer a statutory repeal unless the later statute
As the Supreme Court explained in Blanchette v. Connecticut General Insurance Corporations—quoting Judge Friendly‘s opinion for the lower court—the demanding standard for finding an amendment by implication “rests on a sound foundation.” 419 U.S. 102, 134, 95 S.Ct. 335, 42 L.Ed.2d 320 (1974) (quotation marks omitted). In particular, courts presume that “Congress had given serious thought to the earlier statute,” and, as a result, “[b]efore holding that the result of the earlier consideration has been repealed or qualified, it is reasonable for a court to insist on the legislature‘s using language showing that it has made a considered determination to that end.” Id. at 134, 95 S.Ct. 335 (quotation marks omitted). None of the subsequent enactments Defendants identify satisfy this high standard.
The most recent enactment—the statute exempting water transfers from Lake Texoma—constitutes a pragmatic congressional response to the Interior Department‘s interpretation of the statute in one particular case. The Department took the position that operation of the Water District‘s new pipeline would violate the Lacey Act. Congress responded to that concern and exempted the water transfers at issue from the Act. It is clear that Congress concluded that the Lacey Act should not apply to those water transfers. It is far from clear, however, that Congress as a whole concluded that the Lacey Act should be construed to prohibit all interstate transfers of listed species. Rather, it seems far more likely that Congress merely concluded that the Interior Department‘s view of the law—whether right or wrong—should not force the Water District to abandon its pipeline. In any event, Congress did not clearly express an intent to amend the Lacey Act, and there is no “positive repugnancy” between Congress‘s plain intent in 1960 and the 2012 legislation. Blanchette, 419 U.S. at 134, 95 S.Ct. 335. Under both enactments, the interstate transportation of zebra mussels through the Water District‘s pipeline would be permitted.
Although Congress‘s 1990 amendment listing zebra mussels under the Lacey Act expanded, rather than limited, the reach of the statute, it is also insufficient to establish an implied amendment. Congress listed the zebra mussel among a number of other provisions intended to staunch the flow of zebra mussels into the United States and to curb their spread within the country. See
Plaintiffs’ strongest argument rests on the significance of the 2010 amendment listing bighead carp as an in
As Defendants concede (Dkt. 48 at 6, n.6), “there is no irreconcilable conflict between the 1960 amendments and the . . . 2010 amendments.” It is logically possible to apply both laws simultaneously and to give both enactments meaning: Bighead carp initially arrived in the United States as an imported species, and under the 1960 amendments their listing would still criminalize any further importation. Plaintiffs argue, moreover, that even prohibiting interstate transportation of the species would not have been particularly effective—the major threat posed by bighead carp was not a bustling domestic trade in the species, but rather that fish would cross from the Mississippi River system into Lake Michigan “by their own volition.” Dkt. 45 at 8 n.7. It is nonetheless evident that the principal purpose of the 2010 amendment was to prohibit interstate transportation of bighead carp.
Although the question is close, the Court concludes that even the bighead carp legislation did not impliedly amend the Lacey Act. The relevant question is not whether Congress intended to ban interstate transportation of bighead carp, but, ultimately, whether it intended to criminalize the interstate transportation of all species currently listed under the Lacey Act, and all species that the Interior Department or Congress might someday list. Notably, the change from the 1960 version of the Lacey Act—which criminalized only imports and shipments between the insular and the continental United States—to the version of the law that Defendants posit—which would bar all interstate transportation of listed species—is a fundamental one. The authority to regulate imports is far narrower than the power to regulate interstate activity. Had Congress intended to make or embrace such a significant change in the law—even implicitly—one would have expected to see some debate or mention of the expansion. As the Supreme Court has observed, “Congress . . . does not alter the fundamental details of a regulatory scheme in vague terms or ancillary provisions—it does not, one might say, hide elephants in mouseholes.” Whitman v. Am. Trucking Ass‘ns, Inc., 531 U.S. 457, 468, 121 S.Ct. 903, 149 L.Ed.2d 1 (2001).
This absence of any mention of an expansion in the scope of the law, moreover, is all the more troubling because the Lacey Act is a criminal statute. “[B]ecause of the seriousness of criminal penalties, and because criminal punishment usually represents the moral condemnation of the community, legislatures and not courts should define criminal activity.” United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336, 348, 92 S.Ct. 515, 30 L.Ed.2d 488 (1971). Importantly, this maxim follows from “the instinctive distaste against men languishing in prison unless the lawmaker has clearly said they
The Supreme Court‘s rejection of an implied amendment argument in TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978), further supports this conclusion. There, Congress learned that a dam under construction on the Little Tennessee River would threaten the population of endangered fish—the snail darter—that lived only in that river. Id. at 158-59, 98 S.Ct. 2279. Congress continued to appropriate funds to the project, and both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees issued reports expressly stating their view that the Endangered Species Act did not prohibit the Project‘s completion. Id. at 170-71, 98 S.Ct. 2279. The Supreme Court nonetheless held that the project should be enjoined, reasoning that the “language, history and structure” of the Endangered Species Act indicated “beyond doubt that Congress intended endangered species to be afforded the highest of priorities.” Id. at 174, 98 S.Ct. 2279.
The Court rejected the TVA‘s argument that three appropriations statutes dedicating millions of dollars to the project after the snail darter was listed as an endangered species impliedly repealed the Endangered Species Act. Aspects of its reasoning are distinguishable from this case: For example, the Court noted that appropriations measures may be particularly poor bases for inferring Congress‘s intent to amend substantive legislation, and it questioned the extent to which members of Congress who did not sit on the Appropriations Committees were aware of the Committees’ interpretations. “Quite apart from the foregoing factors,” however, the Court was “unable to find that in this case the earlier and later statutes [were] irreconcilable.” Id. at 192, 98 S.Ct. 2279 (quotation marks omitted). It noted that “TVA confidently reported to the Appropriations Committees that efforts to transplant the snail darter appeared to have been successful,” which would have given “those committees some basis for the impression that there was no direct conflict” with the Endangered Species Act. Similarly, the Court considered that the district court‘s decision in favor of the government would have given the Committees some hope that the project would survive review, thus justifying the appropriation of funds for its completion. Id.
Even if not on all fours with the present dispute, Hill provides relevant guidance. In both cases, Congress enacted subsequent legislation with an understanding detailed in the legislative history of how the new law would interact with an earlier statute. In both cases, understanding of the law set forth in committee reports was mistaken. And in both cases, the mistake substantially undermined the effect of the subsequent legislation. Indeed, if any
If it had faced the question, the 2010 Congress may well have decided as a general matter to criminalize importation of species listed under the Lacey Act—or it may have declined to do so. But Congress did not decide that broader question, and there is nothing in the legislative history of the 2010 amendment to suggest that Congress considered it at all. A debate on whether to amend the Lacey Act to bar interstate transportation of all listed species would raise policy issues unrelated to the spread of the bighead carp: how the listing or potential listing of commercially traded species might affect the economy, for example, or whether the existing restrictions on interstate transportation of illegally possessed species might, in conjunction with state law, be adequate to achieve Congress‘s purpose. See
Accordingly, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their statutory interpretation claim.
B. Plaintiffs’ Regulatory Flexibility Act Claim
Plaintiffs also argue that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their Regulatory Flexibility Act claim. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (“RFA“) “obliges federal agencies to assess the impact of their regulations on small businesses.” U.S. Cellular Corp. v. FCC, 254 F.3d 78, 88 (D.C. Cir. 2001). At the final rulemaking stage, the RFA requires an agency to prepare a “final regulatory flexibility analysis” that contains, among other things, “a statement of the significant issues raised by the public comments in response to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis,” as well as the agency‘s assessment of those issues and a statement of changes made as a result of public comments.
Plaintiffs allege that the Interior Department impermissibly relied on the same 2010 “initial regulatory flexibility analysis” (“IRFA“) for the 2015 Rule that it had for the 2012 Rule. Dkt. 28-1 at 31. According to Plaintiffs, this prevented the Department from considering alternatives tailored to the changed circumstances in the
According to Defendants, Plaintiffs’ challenge is “invalid” because it turns on the sufficiency of the IRFA used for the 2015 Rule, and IRFAs are not subject to the judicial review provisions of the RFA. Dkt. 32 at 25. The IRFA requirement is codified at
In response, Plaintiffs re-cast their RFA argument as a challenge to the final regulatory flexibility analysis (“FRFA“). See
These allegations all boil down to objections to the fact that the Department reused its 2010 IRFA rather than publishing a new IRFA that would have more fully advised interested entities about the data and alternatives the Department was considering in 2014. And
II. Irreparable Injury
Plaintiffs assert that they (or members of USARK) will suffer several types of irreparable injury if the 2015 Rule goes into effect. Plaintiffs submitted several declarations from owners of reptile breeding businesses stating that the viability of their businesses will be jeopardized by the 2015 Rule. See Decl. of Jay Brewer (Pls.’ Ex. D) ¶ 14 (“To be expected to” shift from reticulated python breeding “under the current guidelines, with less than 30 days to prepare, would be impossible and would effectively result in the bankrupting of a successful business I‘ve spent the past three decades building“); Decl. of Kevin McCurley (Pls.’ Ex. G) ¶¶ 9, 22 (“The rule . . . will cause me ruinous economic injury. . . . I will no longer derive a considerable source of my income from these species and feel it is unlikely my business can and will survive.“); Decl. of Kristopher Brown (Pls.’ Ex. H) ¶ 28 (“If this regulation stays in place, our family will be looking for a new means of support and the company . . . will cease to exist in a very short amount of time.“); Decl. of Ryan Parker (Pls.’ Ex. J) ¶ 11 (“I will not be able to support my family or my employee if this rule remains in place“). They also submitted declarations explaining that the then-looming April 9 deadline rendered snakes subject to the 2015 Rule virtually unsaleable, as breeders rushed to dispose of large numbers of snakes and buyers withdrew from the market. See, e.g., Decl. of Jay Brewer (Pls.’ Ex. D) ¶ 21 (“on March 5, 2015, when news of the addition of the Reticulated Pythons to the Lacey Act broke . . . we had virtually all of our high end sales dissolve in a matter of moments“); McCurley Decl. ¶¶ 11, 21 (“There is absolutely no way I can place, liquidate, or effectively accomplish the movement of my breeding and educational stocks in just thirty days. . . . How can I possibly find people, zoos and educators to take these animals while there is an incredible influx of other keepers, breeders and educators scrambling to rehome their snakes, too?“); Brown Decl. ¶ 20 (“[C]ustomers are backing out of the payment plans, and canceling the pre-orders.“)
Many of Plaintiffs’ declarants allege that the 2015 Rule forces them to make a difficult choice between paying for the upkeep of snakes that cannot be sold or euthanizing them. See, e.g., Declaration of Lynlee Renick (Pls.’ Ex. F) ¶¶ 8, 10 (“The volume of reticulated pythons and green anacondas that we have . . . is a burden that even we, as a financially stable company, will have trouble supporting and caring for. . . . [W]e may be faced with the heartbreaking decision to euthanize these wonderful animals.“); Brown Decl. ¶ 16 (“Without the income derived from selling the animals[‘] offspring or future breeding potential offspring, there is no way we can afford to devote the time and resources to properly house, feed, and care for these animals.“); Declaration of Navarone Garibaldi (Pls.’ Ex. E) ¶¶ 7-9 (“I am deeply afraid I will not be able to sell all of the babies [in a clutch of eggs] in just one state alone, and I cannot care for all of them indefinitely on my own. What can I do? Euthanize them?“).
Defendants also claim that Plaintiffs’ asserted economic harms are too indirect to satisfy the irreparable harm standard. Id. at 32 (citing Am. Meat Inst. v. Dep‘t of Agric., 968 F.Supp.2d 38, 81 (D.D.C. 2013), aff‘d, 746 F.3d 1065, reinstated in relevant part by 760 F.3d 18 (en banc)). There is an important difference, however, between the harms alleged by declarants here and the speculation about “independent market variables” that the court in American Meat Institute found insufficient to establish irreparable harm. 968 F.Supp.2d at 81. Although the meat suppliers in that case expressed concern that a new labeling requirement might reduce future demand for their products among meatpackers and consumers, several declarants here have stated that the impending effective date for the 2015 Rule has already resulted in lost sales. See, e.g., Brewer Decl. ¶ 21; Brown Decl. ¶ 20. Moreover, it would defy logic if an interstate transportation ban did not significantly reduce sales for declarants like Kevin McCurley (see McCurley Decl. ¶ 3 (“only 1% of my Reticulated business has been from within my state of New Hampshire“)) or Kristopher Brown (see Brown Decl. ¶ 11 (“Our home state of Wisconsin sales do not even account for 1% of our gross sales.“)). For similar reasons, the harm alleged by breeder declarants in this case is distinguishable from that alleged by safari outfitters in Safari Club International v. Jewell, 47 F.Supp.3d 29, 37 (D.D.C. 2014). There, outfitters claimed that they “may suffer economic losses if hunters cancel expeditions” in response to an elephant trophy ban, but did not allege that they had actually suffered losses at the time of the suit. Id.9
Defendants’ suggestions that international sales might sustain the businesses of some declarants (who live in states with authorized ports), or that declarants might sell to permitted scientific or educational purchasers, do show that the 2015 Rule will not entirely wipe out the market for listed species in the United States. See Dkt. 32 at 32-33. Still, even in light of these potential alternatives, Plaintiffs’ dec
Defendants also argue that Plaintiffs’ declarants have provided insufficient evidence to establish that their businesses will be put in jeopardy if the 2015 Rule takes effect. It is true that some of the declarants who now allege significant risks to their business were able to survive implementation of the 2012 Rule, which, among other things, prohibited interstate transportation of the Burmese python. See, e.g., McCurley Decl. ¶ 5; Brewer Decl. ¶ 10. The fact that a business survived a ban on interstate transportation of one popular species, though, does not mean it would survive another. Kevin McCurley, for example, alleged that losses associated with the 2012 Rule were “crippling to [his] business.” McCurley Decl. ¶ 5. The Court understands that risks to businesses may be easily overstated, but it does not appear far-fetched to suggest that some businesses that rely heavily on interstate trade in newly listed species face an existential threat.
Defendants’ contention that declarants have failed to provide detailed proof—such as a “projection of anticipated future losses” tied to “an accounting of the company‘s current assets” (Am. Meat Inst., 968 F.Supp.2d at 78)—is well taken. Some of Plaintiffs’ declarants provide specific facts about the proportion of their business dedicated to listed species and the proportion of their sales that require interstate transportation of snakes, and these facts seem to support the contention that the 2015 Rule jeopardizes at least some reptile breeders’ businesses. Still, if the Court based its irreparable harm determination solely on the averred threat to the continued existence of Plaintiffs’ businesses, it is not clear that these statements would provide enough specificity to warrant preliminary relief. In light of the other basis for finding irreparable economic injury, however—that Plaintiffs’ declarants have identified losses that are imminent, serious and unrecoverable—this potential defect does not defeat Plaintiffs’ showing of irreparable injury.
Finally, the Court does not accept Defendants’ contention that Plaintiffs’ purported delay in requesting preliminary injunctive relief precludes a finding of irreparable injury. Plaintiffs filed their application for a temporary restraining order significantly less than one month after the 2015 Rule was published in the Federal Register. Along with a substantial memorandum of law, their application attached thirteen declarations that presumably required time to obtain, review and finalize. Under the circumstances, the Court does not find that Plaintiffs exhibited undue delay in filing the instant application.10
III. Balance of Equities
The final two factors in the Court‘s analysis of a request for preliminary relief—the balance of equities and the public interest—“merge” in cases where the relief is sought against the government. Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435, 129 S.Ct. 1749, 173 L.Ed.2d 550 (2009). Here, Defendants assert two countervailing interests that must be weighed against Plaintiffs’ showing of irreparable harm: harm to the environment, and economic harm to federal, state and local governments.
The reticulated python and green anaconda also have the potential to become established as invasive species in some parts of the country. Reticulated pythons have a history of escaping captivity and the disquieting capacity to reproduce parthenogenically. Id. ¶ 14. Although Defendants appear to agree with Plaintiffs that most of the continental United States is too cold to sustain populations of reticulated pythons or green anacondas, both species could survive in at least parts of Florida and Texas. Id. ¶¶ 14-15. Indeed, the Underwood Declaration asserts that green anacondas have “already been found in the wild in Florida.” Id. ¶ 15.11 And once established in the wild, it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate” any of the four species listed in the 2015 Rule because “all four species are cryptically colored and blend in with their surroundings; have low profiles; can hide in thick brush, trees, or in water; and are frequently inactive [and] thus undetectable.” Id. ¶ 27.
The Department of the Interior‘s evaluation of the threat posed by the reticulated python and green anaconda is understandably informed by its experience with the Burmese python. According to the Underwood Declaration, Burmese pythons are “becoming the top predators in the Everglades.” Id. ¶ 19. Burmese pythons have accomplished a staggering depletion of native wildlife species in that region, and the Underwood Declaration predicts that “[t]he presence of two or more of the large nonnative constrictor species would be expected to have increasing cumulative negative effects on native wildlife.” Id. These impacts include both direct and indirect threats to endangered and threatened
According to Defendants’ declarant, moreover, the Defendant‘s interpretation of the Lacey Act is an essential tool in preventing the spread of these species within the United States. The Underwood Declaration states that the “pet and hobby trade” is the “primary pathway for these constrictor snakes to cross State lines and be introduced into new areas of the United States.” Id. ¶ 23. And hobbyists and pet owners are more likely to experience accidental escapes than are zoos or research institutions. Id. ¶ 24. The Interior Department‘s interpretation of the statute would prohibit transportation of these snakes from other states into regions where their release might lead to the emergence of an invasive population. Because the listed species “pose significant risks to native wildlife and native ecosystems,” the Underwood Declaration states that implementation of the 2015 Rule is “essential“: “Any delay in the implementation of prohibitions on importation and interstate transport of these injurious species will increase risks to native species and natural ecosystems.” Id. ¶ 33.
The economic harms Defendants assert flow from these environmental harms. They claim that federal, state and local governments spend an average of nearly $600,000 per year to prevent or reduce the spread of invasive constrictor species, apparently focused in South Florida. Dkt. 32 at 41-42. Defendants reason that if a delay in implementation of the 2015 Rule allows any of the listed species at issue to become established in the wild, governments at all levels will have to expend substantial resources to control these new invasive populations.
Finally, one issue that is not fully addressed in the briefs is the extent to which shipments into Florida and Texas—the two states in which reticulated pythons and green anacondas are most likely to survive in the wild—might be restricted by effect of
In sum, the potential for a new invasive constrictor species becoming established in any part of the United States is an extremely serious threat to the public interest—much more serious than any of the private harms asserted by Plaintiffs. The five-year period between the promulgation of the proposed rule listing the four species at issue here and the final 2015 Rule does cast some doubt on the threat that a delay of additional weeks or months poses to the public interest. Cf. Dkt. 32 at 36 (arguing that “a delay in filing for an
IV. Weighing the Elements of the Preliminary Injunction Standard
The Court has concluded that, although the question is close, Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits. They have also shown that they will suffer at least some substantial irreparable harm if their request for injunctive relief is denied. In light of the gravity of the threat of a new invasive constrictor species becoming established, however, the balance of equities and public interest factors favor Defendants, at least to the extent shipments of the listed snakes to Florida and Texas are permitted. Under these circumstances, Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are entitled to injunctive relief at least with respect to interstate transportation of reticulated pythons and green anacondas into at least the 47 states in which those snakes are unlikely to establish wild invasive populations.
The Court must “pay particular regard for the public consequences in employing the extraordinary remedy of injunction,” Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305, 312, 102 S.Ct. 1798, 72 L.Ed.2d 91 (1982), and “narrowly tailor[]” the relief “to remedy the specific harm shown,” Neb. Dep‘t of Health & Human Servs., 435 F.3d at 330. Accordingly, on or before 5:00 PM on May 15, 2015, the parties are directed to submit supplemental briefs of not more than seven pages addressing two questions: first, whether it is necessary or appropriate for the Court to exclude transportation of reticulated pythons and green anacondas into Florida and Texas from the scope of its injunction; and second, whether a stay of the preliminary injunction is appropriate to allow Defendants an opportunity to seek interim relief from the Court of Appeals. The parties shall then appear for a status conference on May 18, 2015 at 10:00 AM. The Court will enter an appropriate injunction after reviewing the parties’ submissions and hearing from the parties.
CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction will be GRANTED in part. The Court will enter an appropriate preliminary injunction after hearing from the parties on the scope of the injunction and whether the injunction should be stayed for any period of time pending review in the Court of Appeals.
Abdulrahman ALHARBI, Plaintiff,
v.
Glenn BECK; The Blaze, Inc. Mercury Radio Arts Inc., and Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., Defendants.
Civil No. 14-11550-PBS.
United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.
Signed May 5, 2015.