Ameren Missouri v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

897 F. Supp. 2d 802, 2012 WL 4372518, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136870
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 25, 2012
DocketCase No. 4:11CV02051AGF
StatusPublished

This text of 897 F. Supp. 2d 802 (Ameren Missouri v. United States Environmental Protection Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ameren Missouri v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 897 F. Supp. 2d 802, 2012 WL 4372518, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136870 (E.D. Mo. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

AUDREY G. FLEISSIG, District Judge.

Plaintiff Union Electric Company d/b/a Ameren Missouri (“Ameren”) brings this action against Defendant, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) seeking disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 552 et seq. (“FOIA”) of records pertaining to certain Notices of Violation issued to Plaintiff (collectively, the “NOVs”). The NOVs alert Plaintiff to the failure to obtain permits under and possible violations of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7470-92, related to “significant net emissions increases,” within the meaning of the CAA, resulting from certain physical changes and changes in methods of operation (“the Projects”) undertaken by Plaintiff at the power plants it oper[805]*805ates.1 Defendant has produced certain agency records responsive to Plaintiffs FOIA request, but asserts that other responsive records are exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5) (“Exemption 5”) and § 552(b)(7)(A) (“Exemption 7(A)”) of the FOIA.

On January 12, 2011, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), acting on behalf of Defendant, filed a lawsuit, United States v. Ameren Missouri, Case No. 4:11-CV-0077-RWS, against Plaintiff in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. In that case, pending before the Honorable Rodney W. Sippel, DOJ seeks injunctive relief and civil penalties for violations of the CAA and alleges that Plaintiff violated the CAA and other applicable laws when it undertook major modifications at its Rush Island Plant in Festus, Missouri (“CAA Case”).2 On February 15, 2012, Judge Sippel denied a motion to consolidate the CAA Case and the instant case because the dispute in this case is broader than that in the CAA Case, dealing, as it does, with records related to 28 Projects at four power plants rather than alleged CAA violations arising from modifications at a single power plant.

Now before the Court are the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment. (Doc. Nos. 20 & 32.) Plaintiff seeks an order directing Defendant to release all documents responsive to its request and an award of attorney’s fees and costs. In its cross motion, Defendant seeks a determination that it has complied with its obligation under the FOIA because the records withheld are exempt from disclosure under Exemptions 5 and 7(A). In the alternative, Defendant seeks an order staying this case until the close of discovery in the pending CAA Case. The parties have fully briefed the issues and, at Plaintiffs request, the Court held oral argument on these motions.

Background

On the record before it the Court finds the following undisputed facts:

Ameren operates four coal-fired electric generating power plants located in Missouri, known as the Labadie, Meramec, Rush Island and Sioux plants (“the Plants”). On January 26, 2010, October 14, 2010, and May 27, 2011, Defendant issued NOVs to Plaintiff pursuant to Section 113(a)(1) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. § 7413(a)(1). (Doc. Nos. 24-3-24-5.) In the NOVs, Defendant found, in part, that Plaintiff undertook forty-eight Projects at its Plants between 1985 and 2010 that caused “significant net emissions increases” in S02, NOx, PM, ozone, and/or PM2.5. The NOVs further stated that Plaintiff failed to apply for or obtain a permit from Defendant prior to commencing the Projects and that the Projects resulted in ongoing violations of certain provisions of the CAA. 42 U.S.C. §§ 7470-92.

The NOVs are not final agency actions3 and do not specify particular emissions [806]*806levels or the calculations, methods, or data that Defendant used to make its administrative findings that the Projects resulted in significant emissions increases.

On July 1, 2011, Plaintiff submitted a FOIA Request4 (the “Request”) seeking “all documents and information that discuss or memorialize the emission calculations performed or used in connection with ... the NOVs.” (Doc. No. 24-6.) Plaintiff asserts that the Request sought only factual data and information that supported the allegations made in the NOVs and explicitly excluded the work product or mental impressions of Defendant’s counsel. By letter dated July 28, 2011, Defendant denied the initial request, confirming only that it possessed responsive information in “approximately 100 spreadsheets and 45 other documents,” exempt from mandatory disclosure under Exemptions 5 and 7(A) of FOIA (“the First Response”),5 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), (b)(7)(A). (Doc. No. 24-7.) Defendant did not provide a Vaughn index 6 or specific description of any of the documents. On August 16, 2011, Plaintiff filed a timely administrative appeal from the First Response. Defendant responded by letter dated September 16, 2011, granting the request “with respect to the requested records and portions of records that contain only factual information not subject to exemption under FOIA” and “with regard to some portions of the records because there are reasonably segregable, non-exempt portions of the records requested.” (Doc. No. 24-9 at 1.)

Defendant denied the request “with respect to the remaining records and information,” claiming Exemptions 5 and 7(A) of FOIA authorized Defendant to withhold [807]*807certain documents and information responsive to Plaintiff’s Request.

Defendant informed Plaintiff that 275 documents were responsive to the Request and agreed to provide all “reasonably segregable and non-exempt records.” On October 19, 2011, Defendant produced7 48 entire documents (the “Disclosed Documents”) and 136 redacted documents (the “Redacted Documents”) and withheld 91 documents (the “Undisclosed Documents”).8

The Disclosed Documents include: spreadsheets with “pure data,” involving no analyses, projections or exercise of judgment by EPA enforcement staff, and related to parameters such as “Gross Load, Heat Input, and NOx rate”; graphical depictions of these pure data, and spreadsheets containing information obtained from Ameren in response to EPA information requests. (Declaration of Mark Smith, Doc. No. 34-8, ¶ 30.) Defendant asserts that it used the information in the Disclosed Documents to make its calculations regarding Plaintiffs CAA compliance, and agreed to their full disclosure because they contain information generally available to the public. See id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Weber Aircraft Corp.
465 U.S. 792 (Supreme Court, 1984)
John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp.
493 U.S. 146 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Morley v. Central Intelligence Agency
508 F.3d 1108 (D.C. Circuit, 2007)
James Miller v. United States Department of State
779 F.2d 1378 (Eighth Circuit, 1986)
Hulstein v. Drug Enforcement Administration
671 F.3d 690 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)
Shannahan v. Service
672 F.3d 1142 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Gannon International v. Walter Blocker
684 F.3d 785 (Eighth Circuit, 2012)
Wilner v. National Security Agency
592 F.3d 60 (Second Circuit, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
897 F. Supp. 2d 802, 2012 WL 4372518, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136870, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ameren-missouri-v-united-states-environmental-protection-agency-moed-2012.