Washington Environmental Council v. Sturdevant

834 F. Supp. 2d 1209, 42 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20362, 2011 WL 6014664, 75 ERC (BNA) 1074, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138852
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedDecember 1, 2011
DocketCase No. C11-417 MJP
StatusPublished

This text of 834 F. Supp. 2d 1209 (Washington Environmental Council v. Sturdevant) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Washington Environmental Council v. Sturdevant, 834 F. Supp. 2d 1209, 42 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20362, 2011 WL 6014664, 75 ERC (BNA) 1074, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138852 (W.D. Wash. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER ON THE PARTIES’ DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS

MARSHA J. PECHMAN, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 35), Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 55), and Intervenor-Defendant’s motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 50). Having reviewed the motions, the combined responses (Dkt. Nos. 55 and 50), the replies (Dkt. Nos. 59, 61, and 63), Defendants’ notice of supplemental authority (Dkt. No. 69), Plaintiffs’ response to the supplemental authority (Dkt. No. 70), and all related filings, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the parties’ motions, GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Defendants’ motion to strike, and ORDERS parties meet and confer to propose a briefing schedule regarding an appropriate remedy.

[1211]*1211Background

Plaintiffs Washington Environmental Council and Sierra Club (collectively referred to as “Conservation Organizations”) are suing Defendants Ted Sturdevant, Mark Asmundson, and Craig T. Kenworthy in their official capacities as directors of, respectively, the Washington State Department of Ecology (“Ecology”), Northwest Clean Air Agency (“NWCAA”), and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (“PSCAA”) (collectively referred • to as “Agencies”) under the federal Clean Air Act. Plaintiffs allege the Agencies are not enforcing Washington’s State Implementation Plan (“SIP”) which requires the Agencies to define reasonably available control technology (“RACT”) for greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) and apply the RACT standards to oil refineries. Five oh refineries operate in Washington — BP Cherry Point in Blaine, ConocoPhillips in Ferndale, Shell Oil in Anacortes, Tesoro in Anacortes, and U.S. Oil in Tacoma. Plaintiffs believe the oil refineries are responsible for a significant portion of the total GHG emissions in Washington. The Western States Petroleum Association (“WSPA”), of which all five oil refineries are members, appear as Intervenor-Defendants. (See Dkt. No. 25.)

Washington’s SIP was adopted pursuant to the Clean Air Act (“CAA”). 42 U.S.C. §§ 7408-7410. Under the CAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) establishes national ambient air quality standards (“NAAQS”) for “criteria pollutants.” 42 U.S.C. § 7409(a). Then, each state must propose a SIP that sets emissions limits, control measures, and schedules for attaining and/or maintaining NAAQS compliance. 42 U.S.C. § 7410(a). Once a SIP is approved by the EPA, it becomes federal law and federally-enforceable. Safe Air for Everyone v. EPA 488 F.3d 1088, 1091 (9th Cir.2007). As NAAQS change and new NAAQS. are added, states revise their SIPs and propose how they will attain and/or maintain those revised NAAQS. 42 U.S.C. § 7410(a)(1). To date, the EPA has established NAAQS for six pollutants: particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. 40 C.F.R. Part 50. The EPA has not established NAAQS for GHGs.

In Washington, Ecology adopted revisions to Washington’s SIP in 1993, which the EPA later approved in 1995. 60 Fed. Reg. 28,726 (June 2, 1995). At issue in this action are two provisions amended in 1995: the “RACT provision” and the “Narrative Standard.” In relevant part, the RACT provision states:

[A]ll emissions units are required to use reasonably available control technology (RACT) which may be determined for some sources or source categories to be more stringent than the applicable emission limitations of any chapter of Title 173 WAC. Where current controls are determined to be less than RACT, the permitting authority shall, as provided in [RCW 70.94.154], define RACT for each source or source category and issue a rule or regulatory order requiring, the installation of RACT.

WAC 173-400-040(1). The Narrative Standard states:

No person shall cause or allow the emission of any air contaminant from any source if it is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of any person, or causes damage to property or business.

WAC 173-400-040(6). RCW 70.94.030(1) defines “air contaminants” as “dust, fumes, mist, smoke, other particulate matter, vapor, gas odorous substance, or any combination thereof.” Since Washington’s definition of “air contaminants” includes GHGs and oil refineries are “emission units” or sources of air contaminants, Plaintiffs bring this action demanding the Agencies [1212]*1212establish RACTs for GHG emissions from oil refineries.

Analysis

I. Dispositive Motions

Plaintiffs and WSPA filed cross-motions for summary judgment and the Agencies filed a motion to dismiss. There is no dispute that, to date, the Agencies have not applied the RACT provision to GHGs. However, Defendants argue Washington’s SIP is not federally-enforceable to the extent it regulates GHGs because GHGs are not criteria pollutants with recognized NAAQS.

A. Summary Judgment and Motion to Dismiss Standards

On a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept the material allegations in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to Plaintiff. NL Indus., Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986). A motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of the complaint. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The plaintiff must provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

Summary judgment is not warranted if a material issue of fact exists for trial. Warren v. City of Carlsbad, 58 F.3d 439, 441 (9th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1171, 116 S.Ct. 1261, 134 L.Ed.2d 209 (1996). The underlying facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574

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834 F. Supp. 2d 1209, 42 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20362, 2011 WL 6014664, 75 ERC (BNA) 1074, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138852, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-environmental-council-v-sturdevant-wawd-2011.