Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating, LLC

248 F. Supp. 3d 1194, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20054, 2017 WL 1287546, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90913
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedApril 4, 2017
DocketCase No. CIV-16-134-F
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 248 F. Supp. 3d 1194 (Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating, LLC, 248 F. Supp. 3d 1194, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20054, 2017 WL 1287546, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90913 (W.D. Okla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

STEPHEN P. FRIOT, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the court are the following motions:

(1) Defendant Devon Energy Production Company, L.P.’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (doc. no. 59);

(2) Defendant New Dominion, LLC’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunc-tive Relief (doc. no. 61); and

(3) The Motion of Defendant Chesapeake Operating, L.L.C. to Dismiss Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint (doc. no. 63).

Introduction

Plaintiff, Sierra Club, brings this civil action for declaratory and injunctive relief under the citizen suit provision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, amended as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 6901, et seq., specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B). In its amended complaint, plaintiff alleges that the deep injection of liquid waste from oil and gas extraction activities by defendants Chesapeake Operating, LLC, Devon Energy Production Co., LP, and New Dominion, LLC has contributed, and continues to contribute, to an increase in earthquakes throughout the State of Oklahoma and in southern Kansas.1 See, First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (doc. no. 49), ¶ 2. According to plaintiff, the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma increased more than 300 fold, from a maximum- of 167 before 2009 to 5,838 in 2015. Id. at ¶ 3. Plaintiff also alleges that the severity of earthquakes has increased as the number of earthquakes has increased. Id. For example, plaintiff alleges that the number of magnitude 3.5 earthquakes increased 50-fold, from 4 in 2009 to 220 in 2015. Id. Plaintiff alleges that seismologists have stated that a magnitude 7 earthquake is possible along the Nemaha fault which runs north-northwest between Oklahoma City and southern Kansas. Id. at ¶¶4, 52. In addition, plaintiff alleges that the earthquake risks in Oklahoma are now the highest in the nation, on a par with California. Id. at ¶¶ 5, 36. According to plaintiff, the earthquakes induced by defendants’ waste disposal activities present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or environment. Id. at ¶¶ 2, 59, 62, 84. Plaintiff alleges that waste-induced earthquakes have already [1199]*1199caused property damage and harm to individuals. Id. at ¶¶ 3, 55. It further alleges that there is a real danger that if an earthquake of a magnitude greater than six occurs, storage tanks for oil and other products could be ruptured, pipes carrying oil, gas, or other chemicals could fail, and other damage to infrastructure could occur. Id. at ¶ 56.

To reduce the substantial risk of harm from waste-induced .earthquakes, plaintiff seeks an order from this court reqüiring (1) defendants “to reduce immediately and substantially the amounts of [wastes] they are injecting into the ground to levels that seismologists believe will not cause or contribute to increased earthquake frequency and severity;” (2) defendants “to reinforce vulnerable structures that current forecasts indicate could be impacted by large magnitude earthquakes” during the period of time it takes the earthquake risk :to return to natural background; and (3) “the establishment of an' independent earthquake monitoring and prediction center to determine the amount of [wastes] which may be injected into a specific well or formation before induced seismicity occurs.” See, First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (doc. no. 49), ¶¶ 6, 8, 9 and p. 28.

In their motions, defendants seek to dismiss plaintiffs amended complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Civ. P. Defendants argue that the court should decline to exercise jurisdiction over this action under the Burford abstention and primary jurisdiction doctrines because the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has taken action in response to the increased seismicity caused by wastewater disposal activities. In addition, defendants argue that plaintiffs amended complaint should be dismissed because plaintiff has not joined every company that is disposing of liquid wastes from oil and gas extraction activities into injection wells. Defendants further argue that plaintiffs amended complaint should be dismissed because its claims against defendants fall outside the zone of interests Congress intended to protect under RGRA and are additionally barred by RCRA’s anti-duplication provision.

After careful consideration, the court has concluded thát dismissal of this action is appropriate under the Burford abstention and primary jurisdiction doctrines.,In light of the court’s decision, the court need not address the remaining arguments raised by defendants in support of dismissal.

Discussion

A. Legal Standard

A motion to dismiss based upon abstention and primary jurisdiction grounds may be decided under Rule 12(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. See, Williams v. Pucinski, 2002 WL 1585571, at *2 (N.D. Ill. July 12, 2002); see also, McCormick. v. Halliburton Co., 2012 WL 1119493, at *1, *3 (W.D. Okla. April 3, 2012); Hanlin Group, Inc. v. Power Authority of State of New York, 703 F.Supp. 305, 306 (S.D.N.Y. 1989); see generally, 5B Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1350 (3d ed. 2016). Thus, the court may consider materials outside the pleadings in deciding whether to dismiss on these grounds without converting the motion into one for summary judgment. See, Stein v. Legal Advertising, Committee of Disciplinary Board, 272 F.Supp.2d 1260, 1263 n. 3 (D. N.M. 2003); Williams, 2002 WL 1585571, at *2.

B, Relevant Statutory and Regulatory Framework.

I.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”), 42 U.S.C. § 300f, et seq., enacted in 1974, establishes a regulatory [1200]*1200mechanism to insure the quality of publicly supplied drinking water. See, Phillips Petroleum Co. v. U.S. E.P.A., 803 F.2d 545, 547 (10th Cir. 1986). Part C of the SDWA establishes a regulatory program for the protection of underground sources of drinking water. Id.; see also, 42 U.S.C. §§ 300h to 300h-8. The program requires the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to promulgate regulations that set forth minimum requirements for state underground injection control (“UIC”) programs. See, 42 U.S.C. § 300h. A state must submit to the EPA a proposed UIC program that meets the minimum requirements, and must receive EPA approval, in order to obtain primary regulatory and enforcement responsibility for underground injection activities within that state. See, 42 U.S.C. § 300h-l.

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Bluebook (online)
248 F. Supp. 3d 1194, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20054, 2017 WL 1287546, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sierra-club-v-chesapeake-operating-llc-okwd-2017.