N. Am. Butterfly Ass'n v. Nielsen

368 F. Supp. 3d 1
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedFebruary 14, 2019
DocketCivil Case No. 17-2651 (RJL)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 368 F. Supp. 3d 1 (N. Am. Butterfly Ass'n v. Nielsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
N. Am. Butterfly Ass'n v. Nielsen, 368 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2019).

Opinion

Accordingly, plaintiff's Fifth Amendment claim, as alleged in the Amended Complaint, also must be dismissed. See, e.g., Sierra Club v. Jackson, 648 F.3d 848, 853 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (certain justiciability questions should be addressed under Rule 12(b)(6) ); Matthew A. Goldstein, PLLC v. U.S. Dep't of State, 153 F.Supp.3d 319, 331 n.9 (D.D.C. 2016) (matters of prudential ripeness may be properly resolved under Rule 12(b)(6), rather than Rule 12(b)(1) ), aff'd, 851 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2017).

II. Statutory Claims

It is undisputed that the DHS Secretary's October 2018 Waiver Determination, if validly exercised, deprives the Court of jurisdiction to hear plaintiff's NEPA and ESA claims. "Only Congress may determine a lower federal court's subject-matter jurisdiction." Kontrick v. Ryan, 540 U.S. 443, 452, 124 S.Ct. 906, 157 L.Ed.2d 867 (2004) (citing U.S. Const. art. III, § 1 ). And "when it comes to jurisdiction, the Congress giveth and the Congress taketh away." In re al-Nashiri, 791 F.3d 71, 76 (D.C. Cir. 2015) ; see 5 U.S.C. § 701(a)(1) (APA does not apply where "statute[ ] preclude[s] judicial review"); Robbins v. Reagan, 780 F.2d 37, 42 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (APA and federal question jurisdiction are "subject ... to preclusion-of-review statutes created or retained by Congress"). In the case of IIRIRA, Congress expressly granted to the Secretary the authority to "waive all legal requirements" that, in the "Secretary's sole discretion, [are] necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads" described in the statute. IIRIRA § 102(c)(1). As such, "a valid waiver of the relevant environmental laws under section 102(c) is an affirmative defense to all [of plaintiff's] environmental claims." In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litig. , 915 F.3d 1213, 1221 (9th Cir. 2019).

NABA does not argue that the geographic scope of the Secretary's Waiver Determination fails to encompass the Butterfly Center. See Waiver Determination, 83 Fed. Reg. at 51473 (defining covered area). Thus, the waiver extinguishes plaintiff's NEPA and ESA claims, as those statutes (and the APA) create "legal requirements"

*9that no longer apply to actions related to "the construction of roads and physical barriers"-e.g., excavation, site preparation, installation and upkeep of barriers, roads, and sensors-in the covered area. Id. at 51473-74; see In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litig. , 915 F.3d at 1225 ("The Secretary has waived the legal requirements that [plaintiffs] allege DHS violated."). It is of no moment that the waiver was issued after the commencement of this action. See In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litig. , 915 F.3d at 1221 n.8 (rejecting argument that previously effective statutory requirements survive waiver because "the waiver provision says nothing about when the agency must invoke its authority," and thus no "relief could be granted once DHS issued the waivers").

IIRIRA also expressly precludes federal court jurisdiction to review any non-constitutional "causes or claims" that "aris[e] from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to" the Secretary's waiver authority. IIRIRA § 102(c)(2)(A); Save Our Heritage Org. v. Gonzales, 533 F.Supp.2d 58, 60 (D.D.C. 2008) ("The only claims permitted under the [IIRIRA] waiver provision are those 'alleging a violation of the Constitution.' ") (quoting IIRIRA § 102(c)(2)(A) ). In other words, IIRIRA not only permits the Secretary to waive NEPA and the ESA, but it also precludes any non-constitutional challenge to the waiver itself.

However, IIRIRA's preclusion-of-review provision does not end the matter. NABA contends that I may review whether the Secretary's waiver was ultra vires for failure to consult with other stakeholders, as required under IIRIRA § 102(b)(1)(C). While defendants respond that such non-statutory review is also foreclosed, it is well established in our Circuit that "even where a statute precludes judicial review, 'judicial review is available when an agency acts ultra vires .' " Sky Television, LLC v. F.C.C. , 589 Fed.Appx. 541, 543 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (quoting Aid Ass'n for Lutherans v. U.S. Postal Serv. , 321 F.3d 1166, 1173 (D.C. Cir. 2003) ). Not surprisingly, however, non-statutory review of agency action is "of extremely limited scope." Griffith v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth. ,

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368 F. Supp. 3d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/n-am-butterfly-assn-v-nielsen-cadc-2019.