Oceana, Inc. v. Ross

290 F. Supp. 3d 73
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedFebruary 21, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–cv–829 (CRC)
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 290 F. Supp. 3d 73 (Oceana, Inc. v. Ross) 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
Oceana, Inc. v. Ross, 290 F. Supp. 3d 73 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER, United States District Judge

The National Marine Fisheries Service designs management plans to promote the sustainability of particular species of ocean fish. Plaintiff Oceana, Inc. brought suit under the Administrative Procedure Act challenging the Service's management plan for one such species: the dusky shark. But before reaching the merits of that challenge, the Court must first resolve Oceana's motion to compel the Service to complete or supplement the administrative record with four categories of documents: (1) studies and other documents cited in the final Environmental Impact Statement supporting the Service's dusky shark management plan, (2) catch-related data from fishing vessel logbooks and third-party observer reports, (3) documents withheld by the Service under the deliberative process privilege, and (4) certain other extra-record studies and data. Having considered the parties' arguments and supporting evidence, the Court will order that the record be supplemented with a subset of the materials in the first category of Oceana's request as detailed further below. The Court will deny Oceana's motion in all other respects.

I. Background

The National Marine Fisheries Service ("Service") is a federal agency within the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA"). Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Service is responsible for preparing management plans for all "highly migratory" fisheries under its jurisdiction in the Atlantic. See 16 U.S.C. § 1854(g)(1).1 These plans contain measures which are "necessary and appropriate for the conservation and management of the fishery, to prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished *77stocks, and to protect, restore, and promote the long-term health and stability of the fishery." Id. § 1853(a)(1)(A). In order to protect against overfishing, in its management plans the Service sets an optimum annual yield for each fishery and species of fish. See 50 C.F.R. § 600.310.

In July 2016, the Service released a draft amendment-Amendment 5b-to its Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. A.R. 7080. Amendment 5b specifically addresses the overfishing and management of dusky sharks in the Atlantic. Id. Following a public comment period, the Service released a final version of Amendment 5b in February 2017. A.R. 7050. Oceana, Inc., an environmental and conservation organization, thereafter filed suit against Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, NOAA, and the Service itself.

After receiving the Service's answer, the Court set a summary judgment briefing schedule. Oceana then filed a motion to compel the Service to complete and supplement the administrative record. In light of Oceana's motion, the Court stayed summary judgment briefing and held a hearing on February 2, 2018. It will now grant Oceana's motion in part and deny it in part, as detailed below.

II. Legal Framework

Under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), the Court is directed to "review the whole record or those parts of it cited by a party." 5 U.S.C. § 706. Thus, review of an agency's action under the APA "is to be based on the full administrative record that was before [the agency] at the time [it] made [its] decision." Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 420, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136 (1971). The administrative record consists of "all documents and materials that the agency 'directly or indirectly considered,' " no more and no less. Maritel, Inc. v. Collins, 422 F.Supp.2d 188, 196 (D.D.C. 2006) (quoting Bar MK Ranches v. Yuetter, 994 F.2d 735, 739 (10th Cir. 1993) ). An agency is "entitled to a strong presumption of regularity that it properly designated the administrative record." Pac. Shores Subdivision, Cal. Water Dist. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 448 F.Supp.2d 1, 5 (D.D.C. 2006).

There are two situations in which a plaintiff may seek to add evidence or documents to the administrative record. First, a plaintiff may seek to include "extra-judicial evidence that was not initially before the agency" but that the plaintiff "believes should nonetheless be included in the administrative record." Univ. of Colo. Health at Memorial Hosp. v. Burwell, 151 F.Supp.3d 1, 13 (D.D.C. 2015) (citation omitted); see also The Cape Hatteras Access Pres. Alliance v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, 667 F.Supp.2d 111, 113-14 (D.D.C. 2009). Second, a plaintiff may seek to "include 'evidence that should have been properly a part of the administrative record but was excluded by the agency.' " Univ. of Colo., 151 F.Supp.3d at 13 (citation omitted); see also Cape Hatteras, 667 F.Supp.2d at 114.

With respect to the first situation, a party may supplement the administrative record if she can "demonstrate unusual circumstances justifying a departure from th[e] general rule" against considering extra-record evidence. City of Dania Beach v. FAA, 628 F.3d 581, 590 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (quoting Texas Rural Legal Aid v. Legal Servs. Corp.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
290 F. Supp. 3d 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oceana-inc-v-ross-cadc-2018.