RIVERKEEPER, INC. v. U.S.E.P.A.

Docket Nos. 04-6692-ag(L), 04-6693-ag(CON), 04-6694-ag(CON), 04-6695-ag(CON), 04-6696-ag(CON), 04-6697-ag(CON), 04-6698-ag(CON), 04-6699-ag(CON).

475 F.3d 83 (2007)

RIVERKEEPER, INC., Natural Resources Defense Council, Waterkeeper Alliance, Soundkeeper, Inc., Scenic Hudson, Inc., Save The Bay-People for Narragansett Bay, Friends of Casco Bay, American Littoral Society, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc., New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, Santa Monica Baykeeper, San Diego Baykeeper, California Coastkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, Conservation Law Foundation, Surfrider Foundation, State of Rhode Island, State of Connecticut, State of Delaware, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of New Jersey, State of New York, Appalachian Power Company, Illinois Energy Association, Utility Water Act Group, Pseg Fossil LLC, Pseg Nuclear LLC, Entergy Corporation, Petitioners, v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, Stephen L. Johnson, in his official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Respondents.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Decided: January 25, 2007.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Reed W. Super, Morningside Heights Legal Services, Inc., Environmental Law Clinic, Columbia University School of Law (Michelle Avallone, Julia Errea, Vivian Mills, Ian Dattner, Monique Mendez, Misti Duvall, Devon Knowles, Molly McOwen, Adam Orford, Scott Sneddon, on the brief; P. Kent Correll, of counsel), New York, N.Y. for Petitioners Riverkeeper, Inc., Natural Resources Defense Council, Waterkeeper Alliance, Soundkeeper, Inc., Scenic Hudson, Inc., Save the Bay-People for Narragansett Bay, Friends of Casco Bay, American Littoral Society, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc., New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, Santa Monica Baykeeper, San Diego Baykeeper, California Coastkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, Conservation Law Foundation, and Surfrider Foundation.

Tricia K. Jedele, Special Assistant Attorney General of Rhode Island, Providence, RI (Patrick C. Lynch, Attorney General of Rhode Island; Michael Rubin, Special Assistant Attorney General, Providence, RI; Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General of Connecticut, Kimberly Massicotte and Matthew Levine, Assistant Attorneys General, Hartford, CT; Carl C. Danberg, Attorney General of Delaware, Kevin Maloney, Deputy Attorney General, Wilmington, DE; Thomas F. Reilly, Attorney General of Massachusetts, Andrew Goldberg, Assistant Attorney General, Boston, MA; Zulima V. Farber, Attorney General of New Jersey, Ellen Barney Balint, Deputy Attorney General, Trenton, NJ; Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of New York, Maureen F. Leary, Assistant Attorney General, Albany, NY, on the brief), for State Petitioners Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.

Kristy A.N. Bulleit, Hunton & Williams, Washington, D.C. (James N. Christman, Elizabeth E. Aldridge, Hunton & Williams, Richmond, VA, on the brief), for Petitioners Appalachian Power Company, Illinois Energy Association, and Utility Water Act Group.

Karl S. Lytz, Latham & Watkins LLP, San Francisco, CA, (Christopher J. McAuliffe, PSEG Services Corporation, Newark, NJ; David J. Hayes, Cassandra Sturkie, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, D.C., on the brief), for Petitioners PSEG Fossil LLC and PSEG Nuclear LLC.

Chuck D. Barlow, Entergy Services, Inc., Jackson, MS, and Elise N. Zoli, Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, MA, (Robert H. Fitzgerald, U. Gwyn Williams, Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, MA, on the brief), for Petitioner Entergy Corp.

David S. Gualtieri, Cynthia J. Morris, and Jessica O'Donnell, United States Department of Justice (Sue Ellen Woolridge, Assistant Attorney General, John C. Cruden, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, on the brief; Leslie J. Darman, United States Environmental Protection Agency, of counsel), Washington, D.C., for Respondents.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois, Matthew Dunn, Chief, Environmental Enforcement/Asbestos Litigation Division, Ann Alexander, Environmental Counsel and Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, IL, for Amicus Curiae State of Illinois.

Jon Bruning, Attorney General of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (David D. Cookson, Special Counsel to the Attorney General, Lincoln, NE; Troy King, Attorney General of Alabama, Montgomery, AL; Gregory D. Stumbo, Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Frankfort, KY; Wayne Stenehjem, Attorney General of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND; Paul G. Summers, Attorney General of Tennessee, Nashville, TN; Steve Carter, Office of the Indiana Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, on the brief), for State Amici Curiae Nebraska, Alabama, Kentucky, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Indiana.

Nancy Elizabeth Olinger, Assistant Attorney General (Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas, Barry R. McBee, First Assistant Attorney General, Edward D. Burbach, Deputy Attorney General for Litigation, Karen W. Kornell, Chief, Natural Resources Division, on the brief), Austin, TX, for Amicus Curiae Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Russell S. Frye, FryeLaw PLLC, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae American Petroleum Institute.

Jonathan F. Lewis, Clean Air Task Force, Boston, MA, for Amici Curiae Healthlink, Kentucky Resources Council, New England Clean Water Action, The Ohio Environmental Council, and Ohio Valley Environmental Council.

Lisa Heinzerling, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae OMB Watch.

Before STRAUB, SOTOMAYOR, and HALL, Circuit Judges.


SOTOMAYOR, Circuit Judge.

This is a case about fish and other aquatic organisms. Power plants and other industrial operations withdraw billions of gallons of water from the nation's waterways each day to cool their facilities. The flow of water into these plants traps (or "impinges") large aquatic organisms against grills or screens, which cover the intake structures, and draws (or "entrains") small aquatic organisms into the cooling mechanism; the resulting impingement...

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