Cooling Water Intake Structure Coal. v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency

905 F.3d 49
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJuly 23, 2018
DocketDocket Nos. 14-4645(L); 14-4657(CON); 14-4659(CON); 14-4664(CON); 14-4667(CON); 14-4670(CON); August Term, 2017
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 905 F.3d 49 (Cooling Water Intake Structure Coal. v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooling Water Intake Structure Coal. v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 905 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2018).

Opinion

LOHIER, Circuit Judge:

*58In these consolidated cases, several environmental conservation groups and industry associations petition for review of a final rule promulgated four years ago, in August 2014, by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") pursuant to section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act ("CWA"), 33 U.S.C. § 1326(b), establishing requirements for cooling water intake structures ("CWISs") at existing regulated facilities, see National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-Final Regulations to Establish Requirements for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities and Amend Requirements at Phase I Facilities, 79 Fed. Reg. 48,300 (Aug. 15, 2014) (codified at 40 C.F.R. pts. 122, 125) ("Final Rule" or "Rule").1 The Petitioners also seek review of a May 19, 2014 biological opinion jointly issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") and the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS," and, together with the FWS, the "Services") at the close of formal Endangered Species Act ("ESA") consultation on the Final Rule. The Government continues to defend the Rule today. Because we conclude, among other things, that both the Rule and the biological opinion are based on reasonable interpretations of the applicable statutes and sufficiently supported by the factual record, and because the EPA gave adequate notice of its rulemaking, we DENY the petitions for review.

BACKGROUND

To start, we describe CWISs; their general impact on the environment; and the statutes, regulations, and rules relevant to these petitions. We then provide an overview of the relevant regulatory and procedural history and a summary of the arguments advanced in the various petitions before us.

1. Cooling Water Intake Structures

To dissipate waste heat, power plants and manufacturing facilities use CWISs to extract large volumes of water-nearly 75 trillion gallons annually-from nearby water sources. The force of inflowing water can trap, or "impinge," larger aquatic organisms against the structures and draw, or "entrain," smaller aquatic organisms into a facility's cooling system. Impingement and entrainment kill hundreds of billions of aquatic organisms from waters of the United States each year.

The harm to aquatic organisms caused by a CWIS most directly relates to the amount of water the structure withdraws, which in turn depends on the type of cooling system the facility uses. "Once-through" cooling systems draw cold water from a waterbody and return heated water to the waterbody in a continuous flow. See *59Riverkeeper, Inc. v. EPA, 358 F.3d 174, 182 n.5 (2d Cir. 2004) (" Riverkeeper I "). "Closed-cycle" cooling systems generally recirculate the same cooling water within a CWIS by using towers or reservoirs to dissipate heat from the water. Id.; see also 79 Fed. Reg. at 48,333. Closed-cycle cooling withdraws approximately 95 percent less water than once-through cooling.

2. Statutory Framework

A. The Clean Water Act

The express purpose of the CWA is "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." 33 U.S.C. § 1251(a). Sections 301 and 306 of the CWA broadly authorize the EPA to establish pollution discharge standards. Id. §§ 1311, 1316. In 1972 Congress amended the CWA to specifically address the operation of CWISs. See Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Pub. L. No. 92-500, 86 Stat. 816 ; see also Riverkeeper I, 358 F.3d at 184 (describing the 1972 amendments as marking a "sea of change" in Congress's approach to water pollution). In section 316(b), it directed the EPA to establish standards governing the operation of CWISs:

Any standard established pursuant to [CWA section 301] or [CWA section 306] and applicable to a point source shall require that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact.

33 U.S.C. § 1326(b). Section 316(b) lists no specific factors that the EPA should consider in establishing the applicable "best technology available" ("BTA") standard. We have held that "interpretation of section 316(b) is informed by the two provisions it cross-references," Riverkeeper, Inc. v. EPA, 475 F.3d 83, 91 (2d Cir. 2007) (" Riverkeeper II "), rev'd on other grounds, Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., 556 U.S. 208, 129 S.Ct. 1498, 173 L.Ed.2d 369 (2009), but that the EPA need not comply with "every statutory directive contained" in those two provisions when acting pursuant to section 316(b), id. (quoting Riverkeeper I, 358 F.3d at 187 ). Moreover, the EPA may consider "the benefits derived from reductions [in adverse environmental impact] and the costs of achieving them" when establishing the BTA. Entergy, 556 U.S. at 219, 129 S.Ct. 1498.

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