Shoreline Alliance v. Tennessee Valley Authority

961 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2013 WL 4046356, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111798
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedAugust 8, 2013
DocketNo. 12-1282
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 961 F. Supp. 2d 890 (Shoreline Alliance v. Tennessee Valley Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shoreline Alliance v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 961 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2013 WL 4046356, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111798 (W.D. Tenn. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

J. DANIEL BREEN, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

The Plaintiffs, Shoreline Alliance, an unincorporated association (sometimes referred to herein as the “Association”) 1; David and Carole Merritt; Judy Barnhill; [893]*893Larry and Marilyn Halters; Judy Denmon; Katharine Haskins; Jewell Snelling; Eddie McGregor; Charles and Betty Whitlow; Wayne and Nancy Courtney; Denise Wilson (collectively, the “Individual Plaintiffs”); BCK, Inc. d/b/a Southern Komfort Village and Marina2 (“Southern Komfort”) and Britton Ford Campground (“Britton Ford”) (sometimes collectively referred to as the “Campground Plaintiffs”), on behalf of themselves and similarly situated campers on privately developed and privately run campgrounds on Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) land and similarly situated commercial recreation businesses located on TVA land, filed an amended complaint for declaratory judgment, temporary restraining order and request for preliminary and permanent injunction on January 3, 2013 against the TVA, alleging violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et al. (“NEPA”) and the Independent Offices Appropriations Act, 31 U.S.C. § 9701 (“IOAA”). On January 31, 2013, pursuant to an order of reference, the magistrate judge entered a report and recommendation in which he recommended that the Plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief be denied. (D.E. 30.) The Plaintiffs have filed objections to the report and recommendation. (D.E. 32.) Also pending before the Court is the motion of the Defendant for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (D.E. 23.) As it deems it more expeditious, the Court will focus its attention on the dispositive motion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Rule 56 provides in pertinent part that “[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “To survive summary judgment, the nonmoving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Pucci v. Nineteenth Dist. Ct., 628 F.3d 752, 759-60 (6th Cir.2010) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)) (internal quotation marks omitted). “A genuine issue of material fact exists if a reasonable juror could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id. at 759 (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). “Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge.” Bobo v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 665 F.3d 741, 748 (6th Cir.2012) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505). “Entry of summary judgment is appropriate against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” In re Morris, 260 F.3d 654, 665 (6th Cir.2001) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

FACTS

The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise noted. There are approximately 180 TVA and private marinas and campgrounds on TVA property. Historically, the agency has permitted private persons and entities to construct and/or operate facilities on its property under li[894]*894censes that were terminable on thirty days’ notice. These licenses generally required licensees to pay annual rents and comply with established conditions for operating facilities, such as the preclusion of permanent structures without TVA approval. The license fees varied from facility to facility.

In 2009, TVA’s Office of Inspector General audited the marina and campground license program and concluded in part that

reevaluation of annual fees have not been consistently performed ... reviews of monthly invoicing for campground and marina operators may not be adequate ... structures have been built on TVA properties without TVA approval ... [and] TVA faces reputational risk ... primarily related to the monitoring and enforcement of violations and encroachments.

(D.E. 24 at 2-3.) In response, TVA commissioned a study from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP into industry practice and valuation of publicly available commercial campgrounds and marinas. Deloitte reviewed the practices of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the State of Kentucky and investor-owned facilities; visited over thirty campgrounds and marinas operated on TVA land; interviewed seven operators and reviewed sixteen campground agreements and eighteen marina contracts. Among its key recommendations were that TVA’s disparate license agreements be standardized, that license fees be determined on the basis of a percentage of gross receipts or of appraised market value in order to be in line with similar facilities in the industry, and that licensees/operators be required to make facilities available to the public and enforce license prohibitions on private use.

The agency also sought input from its Regional Resource Stewardship Council, an advisory committee established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, § 9, 5 U.S.C.A App. 2, for the purpose of providing advice to TVA on management of properties under its control, the TVA reservoir system and natural resources on TVA property. The council recommended that license values be equal to private sector values, that a one-size-fits-all fee structure was inappropriate, that “[¡Individuals that are benefitting from the TVA system should be providing some benefit back to TVA” (id. at 3), and that the agency should consider a fixed percentage tied to some measure of economic success.

The Defendant developed new license provisions to address the Inspector General’s audit and Deloitte’s recommendations, and sought feedback from campground and marina owners on the new provisions beginning in 2009. Among other things, the new licenses gave owners two options for their annual license payments: percentage of gross receipts or a market value option. The licenses also standardized length-of-stay requirements, which specified that

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961 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2013 WL 4046356, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shoreline-alliance-v-tennessee-valley-authority-tnwd-2013.