PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
AES SPARROWS POINT LNG, LLC;
MID-ATLANTIC EXPRESS, LLC,
Petitioners,
v.
SHARI T. WILSON, Secretary of the No. 09-1539
Maryland Department of the
Environment; MARYLAND
DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT,
Respondents.
On Petition for Review of an Order
of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
(FERC Docket Nos. CP07-62-000; CP07-63-000;
CP07-64-000; CP07-65-000)
Argued: September 24, 2009
Decided: December 22, 2009
Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, HAMILTON,
Senior Circuit Judge, and Mark S. DAVIS,
United States District Judge
for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
Petition for review denied by published opinion. Senior Judge
Hamilton wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Traxler
joined. Judge Davis wrote a concurring opinion.
2 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
COUNSEL
ARGUED: Jeffrey A. Lamken, BAKER BOTTS, LLP,
Washington, D.C., for Petitioners. Adam Dean Snyder,
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARY-
LAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Respondents. ON BRIEF:
G. Mark Cook, Jessica A. Fore, Adam J. White, Emil J. Barth,
BAKER BOTTS, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioners.
Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General of Maryland, Emily A.
Vainieri, Assistant Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore,
Maryland, for Respondents.
OPINION
HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge:
Pursuant to § 19(d)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 717r(d)(1), we are petitioned by AES Sparrows Point LNG,
LLC and Mid-Atlantic Express Holdings, LLC (collectively
AES) to review the State of Maryland Department of the
Environment’s denial of a request for water quality certifica-
tion pursuant to § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 33
U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1), with respect to a proposed large-scale
liquefied natural gas marine import terminal and pipeline
project. For the reasons that follow, we deny the petition for
review.
I.
A. The Project.
This case involves a proposal by AES to construct and
operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine import terminal
at Sparrows Point (a heavily industrialized area adjacent to
Baltimore Harbor) and an eighty-eight-mile pipeline connect-
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 3
ing the terminal to three interstate natural gas pipelines in
Eagle, Pennsylvania (the Project). "LNG, which is natural gas
that has been cooled to -260? Fahrenheit to form a liquid,
occupies one six-hundredth of the volume of natural gas in its
gaseous state." AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC v. Smith, 527
F.3d 120, 123-24 (4th Cir. 2008). The Project
would receive LNG, store it, and regasify it for
transportation and delivery to residential, commer-
cial, and industrial end users. Because LNG can be
economically transported by sea from gas-producing
areas worldwide to many domestic and foreign mar-
kets, LNG import terminals are typically sited in
coastal areas with shipping access to foreign coun-
tries.
Id. at 124.
The Project involves three different aspects, each of which
raises different environmental concerns. Many of these con-
cerns derive from the fact that the water and sediments around
Sparrows Point are already contaminated by past industrial
use and fail to meet Maryland water quality standards. First,
in order to accommodate the LNG tankers, the Project
requires dredging an approximately 118-acre turning basin
and approach channel within Baltimore Harbor to forty-five
feet of depth. One environmental concern of such dredging is
that dissolved oxygen levels in the additional deep channel
areas would drop below Maryland water quality standards,
rendering aquatic life virtually impossible.
The second aspect of the Project is the terminal itself,
which includes facilities to process the approximately 3.7 mil-
lion cubic yards of contaminated material to be dredged from
the harbor. The processing of the dredged material as called
for under the Project involves both the de-watering of the
dredged spoil and the mixing of the de-watered spoil with
Portland cement and other additives in an effort to bind the
4 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
contaminants within the processed dredged material (the
PDM). Depending on the success of that process in preventing
the leaching of historical contaminants, AES hopes to make
the PDM available as fill material for mine reclamation proj-
ects, construction fill, and other development projects, with
placement in land fills as a secondary option.
The final aspect of the Project is the installation of a natural
gas pipeline, thirty inches in diameter and approximately
eighty-eight miles long, from Baltimore Harbor to Eagle,
Pennsylvania, where the pipeline would connect with three
existing interstate pipelines. Among other things, the pipeline
would cross streams and wetlands in Maryland, raising con-
cerns regarding the destruction of aquatic habitat and water
quality through sedimentation.
B. Relevant Statutes and Agencies Involved in
Authorizing the Project.
The Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 717 to 717z, requires a
party seeking to construct a LNG terminal to obtain authoriza-
tion from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC). Id. § 717b(a). In order to do so, applicants must
comply with the Natural Gas Act’s requirements as well as
complete FERC’s extensive pre-filing process. 18 C.F.R.
§ 157.21. FERC must then consult with the appropriate state
agencies on numerous state and local issues. 15 U.S.C.
§ 717b-1(b).
FERC carries out reviews under the Natural Gas Act and
the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-
4370f, and, as the statutorily designated "lead agency," coor-
dinates other agencies’ reviews related to a LNG project
under other applicable statutes. 15 U.S.C. § 717n(b)(1). The
FERC docket serves as a central conduit and repository for
information requests and responses and is the foundation for
the consolidated record for petitions for review, such as this
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 5
one, concerning water quality certifications under the Clean
Water Act. 15 U.S.C. § 717n(d).
The Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issues authoriza-
tions pursuant to § 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.
§ 1344, and § 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33
U.S.C. § 403, to conduct dredging in navigable waters of the
United States and to discharge dredged and fill materials into
jurisdictional wetlands and waters. Other federal agencies par-
ticipated in FERC’s review of the Project, with comments
being submitted by the United States Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. The
Maryland Department of the Environment (Maryland) is
charged with reviewing the Project under the Coastal Facili-
ties Review Act, Md. Code Ann., Envir. §§ 14-501 to 14-511,
and § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act.
C. The Review Process.
1. Maryland’s Initial Review.
Of relevance to the present petition for review, on January
8, 2007, AES submitted its request to Maryland for water
quality certification under § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act
(AES’s Request for § 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certification or
AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request). Both on May 7 and
August 15, 2007, Maryland notified AES that its § 401(a)(1)
Certification Request was incomplete and identified addi-
tional information needed for processing the request. AES
submitted information in response to each notification. Con-
tinuing to deem AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request
incomplete, Maryland requested further additional informa-
tion from AES on January 23, 2008. AES responded with a
series of submissions, the last of which it submitted on April
14, 2008.
6 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
2. The Corps’ Initial Review.
During the same time frame, the Corps undertook its
review of AES’s application for a dredging and discharge per-
mit under § 404 of the Clean Water Act and § 10 of the Rivers
and Harbors Act of 1899. Like Maryland, the Corps made a
series of requests to AES for additional information in order
to make AES’s application complete. Having received AES’s
final response to its data requests in April 2008, on April 25,
2008, the Corps issued a public notice of AES’s application
for a dredging and discharge permit under § 404 of the Clean
Water Act and § 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 for
review and comment. In relevant part, the public notice
stated:
For [Corps] permitting purposes, the applicant is
required to obtain a Water Quality Certification in
accordance with Section 401 of the [Clean Water
Act] from [Maryland] and the Pennsylvania Depart-
ment of Environmental Protection (PDEP). The
[Corps] hereby requests that [Maryland] and PDEP
review the proposed discharges for compliance with
the applicable water quality standards. The Section
401 certifying agencies have a statutory limit of
one year in which to make their decisions.
73 Fed. Reg. 24276-02, 24277 (May 2, 2008) (emphasis
added).
3. FERC’s Initial Review.
The April 25, 2008 public notice was jointly issued with
FERC and also announced the availability of the Draft Envi-
ronmental Impact Statement (the Draft EIS) for review and
comment.
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 7
4. Maryland, the Corps, and FERC’s Continued
Review.
On June 15, 2008, Maryland submitted comments to FERC
regarding the Draft EIS, concerning a number of different
aspects of the Project, including the creation of anox-
ic/hypoxic areas caused by the deep-dredging of the turning
basin.1 The Corps submitted comments on the Draft EIS as
well. On December 5, 2008, FERC published for review and
comment the final Environmental Impact Statement for the
Project (the Final EIS). In official comments on the Final EIS
directed to FERC, Maryland and the Corps repeated many of
their earlier concerns regarding deficiencies in certain areas of
information.
On January 15, 2009, FERC adopted the Final EIS and
issued its order approving the Project under the Natural Gas
Act (the FERC Order). Issuance of the FERC Order, however,
did not end the regulatory review process. By letter dated
February 6, 2009, the Corps informed AES that, due to out-
standing information about the ultimate disposal of the PDM,
the final pipeline alignment and crossing methodologies, and
the Project’s impact on endangered species, the Corps was not
in a position to finalize its review. The Corps also stated "that
based on information currently in the administrative record, it
would be difficult for the project to receive a favorable deter-
mination from the Corps if the decision needs to be made
within the designated Federal agency decision timeframe of
90 days from release of the FEIS (i.e., by March 5, 2009)."
(J.A. 2288).
1
Anoxic is an adjective meaning "greatly deficient in oxygen."
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 48 (10th ed. 1999). Hypoxic is
an adjective derived from the term "hypoxia," which term means "a defi-
ciency of oxygen reaching the tissues of the body." Id. at 572.
8 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
5. Further events with respect to the Corps’ Review.
Faced with the prospect of a permit denial, AES requested
that the Corps, pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(d)(3)(v), sus-
pend its processing of its § 404 permit application so that
AES could provide the outstanding information. The Corps
declined to suspend its review, but determined that, in accor-
dance with 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(d)(5), AES’s § 404 permit
application is "hereby withdrawn from active status and will
be held in abeyance pending resolution of these [outstanding]
issues and your written request to have the Corps resume
evaluation of this permit application." (J.A. 2482).
6. Further events with respect to Maryland’s Review.
On April 24, 2009, Maryland denied, in writing, AES’s
Request for § 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certification on the
overall basis that it was "unable to conclude that, on this
record, the Project will be carried out in compliance with
Maryland water quality standards." (J.A. 6). Maryland
expressly identified four independent and alternative grounds
for the denial: (1) AES had not demonstrated that the PDM
"will ultimately be managed to ensure compliance with water
quality standards," (J.A. 2); (2) the Project would create addi-
tional deep water areas where dissolved oxygen levels would
fail to meet Maryland water quality standards; (3) AES had
not provided final surveyed plans for all wetland and stream
crossings; and (4) until interagency consultations under § 7 of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. § 1536, have
been completed, Maryland could not conclude that the Project
is consistent with Maryland water quality standards. Maryland
noted, however, that it would continue its review of the Proj-
ect under the Coastal Facilities Review Act and would recon-
sider its denial of AES’s Request for § 401(a)(1) Water
Quality Certification "upon [AES’s] fulfillment of the above
information/consultation requirements." (J.A. 6).
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 9
D. Petition for Review.
In the present action, AES petitions us for review of Mary-
land’s denial of its 401(a)(1) Certification Request. 15 U.S.C.
§ 717r(d)(1) ("The United States Court of Appeals for the cir-
cuit in which a facility subject to section 717b of this title or
section 717f of this title is proposed to be constructed,
expanded, or operated shall have original and exclusive juris-
diction over any civil action for the review of an order or
action of a . . . State administrative agency acting pursuant to
Federal law to issue, condition, or deny any permit, license,
concurrence, or approval . . . required under Federal law
. . . .").
II.
As a threshold matter, we first address Maryland’s claim
that, as a sovereign, it is immune from defending its denial of
AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request in this court. Not sur-
prisingly, AES responds that Maryland waived any potential
claim of sovereign immunity in connection with the present
petition for review by expressly consenting to defending, in
federal court, its decision to deny AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certifi-
cation Request. Virginia v. Reinhard, 568 F.3d 110, 115 (4th
Cir. 2009) ("[A] state may waive its sovereign immunity if it
consents to suit in federal court."), petition for cert. filed,
(U.S. Oct. 28, 2009) (No. 09-529). In this regard, AES points
to the following language in Maryland’s written decision
denying AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request: "Pursuant
to § 717r(d)(1) of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 717r(d)(1), AES has the right to seek review of this decision
through a civil action filed with the United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit." (J.A. 6).
We agree with AES. A State may waive its immunity to
suit in federal court "in the context of a particular federal pro-
gram." Atascadero State Hosp. v. Scanlon, 473 U.S. 234, 238
n.1 (1985). While the test for determining whether a State has
10 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
waived its immunity from suit in federal court is a stringent
one, we conclude that the test has been met here. A State will
only be held to have waived its sovereign immunity from suit
in federal court when the "waiver is ‘stated by the most
express language or by such overwhelming implications from
the text as will leave no room for any other reasonable con-
struction.’" Reinhard, 568 F.3d at 116 (quoting Edelman v.
Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 673 (1974)). At a minimum, the lan-
guage upon which AES relies leaves no room for any other
reasonable construction than that Maryland consented to
defending its denial of AES’s Request for § 401(a)(1) Water
Quality Certification before this court, pursuant to 15 U.S.C.
§ 717r(d)(1). Frankly, we find Maryland’s assertion to the
contrary disingenuous. Moreover, common sense compels the
conclusion that if Maryland did not intend the above quoted
language to represent its consent to defend its decision before
this court, it would not have proceeded to specify in such
decision that "[t]he record for any such review would be the
consolidated record maintained by [FERC] . . . ." (J.A. 6). In
conclusion, we reject Maryland’s claim to sovereign immu-
nity and proceed to address the merits of Maryland’s denial
of AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request.
III.
The parties agree that our review of the merits of Mary-
land’s denial of AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request is
limited to the grounds set forth in the Administrative Proce-
dure Act (the APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701 to 706. Cf. Ohio Valley
Envtl. Coalition v. Aracoma Coal Co., 556 F.3d 177, 192 (4th
Cir. 2009) (claims challenging federal agency action under
the Clean Water Act are subject to judicial review under the
APA). Under the APA, we are to "hold unlawful and set aside
agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be . . . arbi-
trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in
accordance with law." 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). Our review will
follow this standard.
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 11
IV.
AES first challenges Maryland’s denial of its § 401(a)(1)
Certification Request as untimely, and therefore, not in accor-
dance with law. In this regard, AES argues that Maryland
waived the water quality certification requirements of
§ 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act with respect to the Project
by failing to grant or deny its § 401(a)(1) Certification
Request within the one-year waiver period set forth in the
same statutory section. AES’s argument is without merit.
In relevant part, § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act pro-
vides:
If the State . . . fails or refuses to act on a request for
[water quality] certification, within a reasonable
period of time (which shall not exceed one year)
after receipt of such request, the certification require-
ments of this subsection shall be waived with respect
to such Federal application. No license or permit
shall be granted until the certification required by
this section has been obtained or has been waived as
provided in the preceding sentence. No license or
permit shall be granted if certification has been
denied by the State . . . ."
33 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1) (emphasis added).
With respect to the date the one-year waiver period com-
menced regarding AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request,
AES first contends that it commenced on January 9, 2007, the
date Maryland first received such request. Alternatively, AES
contends that, at the latest, the one-year waiver period com-
menced on April 14, 2008, the date of its last submission in
response to Maryland’s last request for additional informa-
tion, prior to Maryland’s decision denying AES’s § 401(a)(1)
Certification Request on April 24, 2009. Maryland’s denial of
AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request did not occur within
12 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
one year of January 9, 2007, or April 14, 2008. In support of
its contentions, AES cites the language of § 401(a)(1) provid-
ing that the waiver period begins "after receipt of [a] request"
for water quality certification under § 401(a)(1). AES also
points out that, in 1987, FERC changed its interpretation of
§ 401(a)(1)’s waiver language from an interpretation consid-
ering the waiver period to commence on the date the certify-
ing agency "deem[s] an application acceptable for
processing," Washington County Hydro Dev. Assocs., 28
FERC (CCH) 61,341, 61,624 (September 18, 1984), to an
interpretation considering the waiver period to commence on
"the date the certifying agency received a written request for
certification," 18 C.F.R. § 4.34(b)(5)(iii)(2009) (formerly 18
C.F.R. § 4.38(e)(2) (1991)).2 According to FERC, its prior
practice of deeming the one-year waiver period to commence
from the date the certifying agency deems the request accept-
able for processing, "fails to enforce the clear text of the
waiver provision of the [Clean Water Act] and subjects a
license applicant to the possibility that a section 401 certifica-
tion proceeding may be protracted beyond one year, in contra-
vention of the statutory objective of preventing such delay."
52 Fed. Reg. 5446-01, 5447 (Feb. 23, 1987).
In response, Maryland argues that the one-year waiver
period did not begin until April 25, 2008. This is the date that
FERC and the Corps issued a joint public notice to advertise,
inter alia: (1) the availability of the Draft EIS; (2) the fact that
AES had applied for a § 404 permit with respect to the Proj-
ect; and (3)
For [Corps] permitting purposes, the applicant is
required to obtain a Water Quality Certification in
accordance with Section 401 of the [Clean Water
2
FERC’s interpretation of § 401(a)(1)’s waiver language pertains to an
application for water quality certification in connection with an applica-
tion for a FERC hydroelectric license. 52 Fed. Reg. 5446 (February 23,
1987).
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 13
Act] from [Maryland and Pennsylvania]. The
[Corps] hereby requests that [Maryland] and [Penn-
sylvania] review the proposed discharges for compli-
ance with the applicable water quality standards. The
Section 401 certifying agencies have a statutory limit
of one year in which to make their decisions.
73 Fed. Reg. 24276-02, 24277 (May 2, 2008).
All of this brings us to the question of whether the one-year
waiver period began to run on April 25, 2008, such that Mary-
land’s April 24, 2009 denial of AES’s Certification Request
was timely. In answering this question, we first consider the
regulation promulgated by the Corps governing its processing
of § 404 permit applications:
No permit will be granted until required certification
has been obtained or has been waived. A waiver may
be explicit, or will be deemed to occur if the certify-
ing agency fails or refuses to act on a request for cer-
tification within sixty days after receipt of such a
request unless the district engineer determines a
shorter or longer period is reasonable for the state to
act. In determining whether or not a waiver
period has commenced or waiver has occurred,
the district engineer will verify that the certifying
agency has received a valid request for certifica-
tion.
33 C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii) (emphasis added). In the joint pub-
lic notice, the Corps declared that Maryland had one year
from April 25, 2008 to consider AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certifica-
tion Request. By necessary implication, the Corps determined
that, as of April 25, 2008, AES’s Certification Request consti-
tuted a valid request for certification, such that the one-year
waiver period commenced on that day. Choosing an earlier
date for the commencement of the one-year waiver period
would require us to interpret § 401(a)(1) as providing that the
14 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
one-year waiver period commenced at the filing of an invalid
§ 401(a)(1) certification request (in this case on the ground of
incompleteness), an interpretation directly at odds with 33
C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii).
Because the Corps is charged with determining whether to
issue AES a § 404 permit for the Project, 33 U.S.C. § 1344,
if the Clean Water Act is ambiguous regarding whether an
invalid as opposed to only a valid request for water quality
certification will trigger § 401(a)(1)’s one-year waiver period
in connection with a § 404 permit application, the Corps’
interpretation as set forth in 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii) is enti-
tled to Chevron deference. See Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natu-
ral Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984).
Indeed, the statute is ambiguous on the issue. Thus, under
Chevron, we must defer to the Corps’ interpretation, "so long
as that interpretation is permissible in light of the statutory
text and reasonable." Ohio Valley Envtl. Coalition v. Bulen,
429 F.3d 493, 498 (4th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks
omitted). Here, the Corps’ interpretation that only a valid
request for § 401(a)(1) water quality certification, as deter-
mined by the Corps, will trigger the one-year waiver period
in connection with a § 404 permit is permissible in light of the
statutory text and is reasonable. Accordingly, we adhere to it.
Moreover, to the extent the joint public notice in the Federal
Register regarding AES’s § 404 permit application is under-
stood to be interpreting the Corps’ own regulation, i.e., inter-
preting 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii), such interpretation of its
own regulation "is entitled to deference ‘unless plainly erro-
neous or inconsistent with the regulation.’" Nat’l Ass’n of
Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644, 672
(2007) (quoting Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452, 461 (1997)
(internal quotation marks omitted)). Such interpretation is nei-
ther plainly erroneous nor inconsistent with the regulation.3
3
We note that when the Corps promulgated 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii)
on November 13, 1986, with an effective date of January 12, 1987, it com-
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 15
Finally, we note that AES’s reliance on FERC’s regulation
interpreting § 401(a)(1)’s one-year waiver period is misplaced
given that FERC is not charged in any manner with adminis-
tering the Clean Water Act. Alabama Rivers Alliance v.
FERC, 325 F.3d 290, 297 (D.C. Cir. 2003).
In sum, AES has failed to establish any basis for us to dis-
turb the Corps’ determination that Maryland had not waived
its right to grant or deny AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification
Request.
V.
Having rejected AES’s waiver argument, we now turn to
consider Maryland’s denial of AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification
Request under the arbitrary and capricious standard. Maryland
relied upon four independent and alternative grounds for its
denial, and AES takes issue with each one. For reasons that
follow, we uphold Maryland’s denial of AES’s § 401(a)(1)
Certification Request on the independent ground that the
dredging required to accommodate the LNG tankers would
create additional deep water areas where dissolved oxygen
levels would fail to meet Maryland water quality standards.
Accordingly, we do not reach and express no opinion on the
remaining three independent and alternative grounds for
Maryland’s denial. See Syracuse Peace Council v. F.C.C.,
867 F.2d 654, 657 (D.C. Cir. 1989) ("[I]f an agency relies on
two grounds for a decision, a court may sustain it if one is
mented in the Federal Register that it "believe[d] that the state has the
responsibility to determine if it has received a valid request" for
§ 401(a)(1) water quality certification. 51 Fed. Reg. 41206-01, 41211
(Nov. 13, 1986). Because we conclude this comment is inconsistent with
the plain language of 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(b)(1)(ii), we owe it no deference.
Nat’l Ass’n of Home Builders, 551 U.S. at 672; Md. Gen. Hosp., Inc. v.
Thompson, 308 F.3d 340, 343 (4th Cir. 2002) (agency’s interpretation of
its own regulation is due no deference if such interpretation is inconsistent
with regulation).
16 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
valid and if the agency would clearly have acted on that
ground even if the other were unavailable."); Communication
Workers of Am. v. NLRB, 784 F.2d 847, 851 (7th Cir. 1986)
("If an agency states two grounds of decision, each sufficient,
a court should sustain the decision if either reason is cor-
rect.").
With respect to Maryland’s denial on the ground that the
dredging required to accommodate the LNG tankers would
create additional deep water areas where dissolved oxygen
levels would fail to meet Maryland water quality standards,
AES contends: (1) Maryland exceeded its statutory authority
under § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act; and (2) the conclu-
sion is arbitrary, capricious, and unsupported by record evi-
dence. We address each in turn.
First, AES argues that the depth of a channel is not a "dis-
charge" under § 401(a)(1), and therefore, Maryland acted in
excess of its statutory authority when it denied AES’s
§ 401(a)(1) Certification Request based upon the channel
depth required for the Project. AES’s argument is without
merit.
In PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Dept. of
Ecology, 511 U.S. 700 (1994), the Court made clear that
§ 401(a)(1) authority to grant or deny water quality certifica-
tion vel non depends on the threshold condition of a dis-
charge. Id. at 711-12. Although we agree with AES that the
depth of a channel itself is not a discharge under § 401(a)(1),
our agreement does nothing to aid AES’s cause here. AES’s
lack-of-statutory authority argument ignores the fact that the
dredging required to increase the channel depth would unde-
niably cause the flowing of water into the places of navigable
waters where the dredged material is removed (i.e., displacing
the dredged material). Although the Clean Water Act does not
define the term "discharge," the Supreme Court has inter-
preted it to mean a "flowing or issuing out" into navigable
waters. S.D. Warren Co. v. Maine Bd. of Envtl. Prot., 547
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 17
U.S. 370, 376 (2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Moreover, in the same case, the Court squarely held that the
term "discharge," as found in § 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water
Act, includes within its ambit the flowing or issuing out of
water. S.D. Warren, 547 U.S. at 376-87.
In S.D. Warren, the petitioner company (Warren) asked
FERC to renew federal licenses for five of the hydroelectric
dams it operated on a Maine river to generate power for its
paper mill. Id. at 373-75. Each dam impounded water, which
then ran through turbines and returned to the riverbed, passing
around a section of the river. Id. at 373. Under protest, War-
ren applied for § 401(a)(1) water quality certifications from
Maine’s environmental regulatory agency. Id. at 375. FERC
licensed the dams subject to compliance with those certifica-
tions, which required Warren to maintain a minimum stream
flow and to allow passage for certain fish and eels. Id. After
losing state administrative appeals, Warren filed suit in state
court, which rejected its claim that the water discharged from
its hydroelectric dams did not result in a "discharge" under
§ 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Id.
Ultimately the case came before the Supreme Court, which
also rejected Warren’s claim that water discharged from its
hydroelectric dams did not constitute "discharge" under
§ 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act. Id. at 373, 375, 386-87.
Of particular relevance in the case presently before us, the
Supreme Court reasoned as follows in support of its holding:
Congress passed the Clean Water Act to "restore
and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the Nation’s waters," 33 U.S.C.
§ 1251(a); see also PUD No. 1, 511 U.S., at 714, 114
S. Ct. 1900, the "national goal" being to achieve
"water quality which provides for the protection and
propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and pro-
vides for recreation in and on the water," 33 U.S.C.
§ 1251(a)(2). To do this, the Act does not stop at
18 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
controlling the "addition of pollutants," but deals
with "pollution" generally, see § 1251(b), which
Congress defined to mean "the man-made or man-
induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biologi-
cal, and radiological integrity of water," § 1362(19).
The alteration of water quality as thus defined is
a risk inherent in limiting river flow and releasing
water through turbines. Warren itself admits that its
dams "can cause changes in the movement, flow,
and circulation of a river . . . caus[ing] a river to
absorb less oxygen and to be less passable by boaters
and fish." Brief for Petitioner 23. And several amici
alert us to the chemical modification caused by the
dams, with "immediate impact on aquatic organisms,
which of course rely on dissolved oxygen in water to
breathe." Brief for Trout Unlimited et al. as Amici
Curiae 13; see also, e.g., Brief for National Wildlife
Federation et al. as Amici Curiae 6 (explaining that
when air and water mix in a turbine, nitrogen dis-
solves in the water and can be potentially lethal to
fish). Then there are the findings of the Maine
Department of Environmental Protection that led to
this appeal:
"The record in this case demonstrates that
Warren’s dams have caused long stretches
of the natural river bed to be essentially dry
and thus unavailable as habitat for indige-
nous populations of fish and other aquatic
organisms; that the dams have blocked the
passage of eels and sea-run fish to their nat-
ural spawning and nursery waters; that the
dams have eliminated the opportunity for
fishing in long stretches of river, and that
the dams have prevented recreational
access to and use of the river." In re S.D.
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 19
Warren Co., L-19713-33-E-N etc. (2003),
in App. to Pet. for Cert. A-49.
Changes in the river like these fall within a State’s
legitimate legislative business, and the Clean Water
Act provides for a system that respects the States’
concerns. See 33 U.S.C. § 1251(b) ("It is the policy
of the Congress to recognize, preserve, and protect
the primary responsibilities and rights of States to
prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution."); § 1256(a)
(federal funds for state efforts to prevent pollution);
see also § 1370 (States may impose standards on the
discharge of pollutants that are stricter than federal
ones).
S.D. Warren, 547 U.S. at 385-86 (alteration in original).
Here, similar to the dissolved oxygen problems caused by
the dam operations in S.D. Warren, the proposed deep chan-
nel dredging by AES as part of the Project will affect the dis-
solved oxygen levels in the dredged areas by changing the
flow of water and allowing for more water in those areas.
Accordingly, we reject AES’s lack-of-statutory authority
argument.
Next, we consider whether Maryland’s denial of AES’s
Request for § 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certification based
upon the anticipated negative effect on water quality caused
by the forty-five foot depth of the proposed deep channel
dredging was arbitrary and capricious. The crux of Mary-
land’s denial on this ground is that "the habitat that currently
exists in the area to be dredged, while impaired, will simply
cease to exist in its entirety if AES proceeds as proposed,"
because the deep channel dredging to forty-five feet will
cause a twenty-nine percent increase in the total water volume
of anoxic/hypoxic water in the area. (J.A. 4).
20 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
AES argues this ground fails to pass muster under the arbi-
trary and capricious standard because the anticipated negative
effects identified by Maryland are unsupported by the record
evidence. In this regard, AES primarily argues that Mary-
land’s claim that thirty-feet is the depth at which no aquatic
life can survive in Baltimore Harbor is not supported by the
record evidence and is contrary to the Final EIS, which states
that "pioneering benthic invertebrates would likely colonize
the dredged area soon after completion of dredging. . . .
[C]onversion of shallow benthic habitat to deeper, channel-
like benthic habitat would not likely alter the benthic commu-
nity in the vicinity of the proposed LNG terminal."4 (J.A.
1338). Additionally, AES claims that Maryland’s denial of its
§ 401(a)(1) Certification Request is arbitrary and capricious
because Maryland had granted a similar request to Barletta-
Willis, Inc. in 2005.
In reviewing Maryland’s denial of AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certi-
fication Request on the merits, we are mindful that the scope
of our review under the arbitrary and capricious standard is
narrow and highly deferential. Ohio Valley Envtl. Coalition v.
Aracoma Coal Co., 556 F.3d 177, 192 (4th Cir. 2009). "Espe-
cially in matters involving not just simple findings of fact but
complex predictions based on special expertise, ‘a reviewing
court must generally be at its most deferential.’" Id. (quoting
Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, 462
U.S. 87, 103 (1983)). Thus, as we recently explained:
In determining whether agency action was arbi-
trary or capricious, the court must consider whether
the agency considered the relevant factors and
whether a clear error of judgment was made.
Although this inquiry into the facts is to be searching
and careful, the ultimate standard of review is a nar-
4
Benthic means "of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of
water . . . ." Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 107 (10th ed.
1999).
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 21
row one. The court is not empowered to substitute its
judgment for that of the agency. Deference is due
where the agency has examined the relevant data and
provided an explanation of its decision that includes
a rational connection between the facts found and the
choice made.
The arbitrary and capricious standard is not meant
to reduce judicial review to a rubber-stamp of
agency action. While the standard of review is nar-
row, the court must nonetheless engage in a search-
ing and careful inquiry of the record. But, this
scrutiny of the record is meant primarily to educate
the court so that it can understand enough about the
problem confronting the agency to comprehend the
meaning of the evidence relied upon and the evi-
dence discarded; the questions addressed by the
agency and those bypassed; the choices open to the
agency and those made.
Ohio Valley Envtl. Coalition, 556 F.3d at 192-93 (internal
quotation marks and citations omitted).
After carefully reviewing the record and considering the
parties written and oral arguments, we hold that Maryland’s
denial of AES’s Request for § 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certi-
fication based upon the anticipated negative effect on water
quality caused by the forty-five foot depth of the proposed
deep channel dredging was not arbitrary and capricious.
Maryland examined the relevant data pertaining to the effect
on water quality in the areas of the proposed deep channel
dredging and articulated a satisfactory explanation for its
denial on that basis, including a rational connection between
the facts found and the choice made, sufficient to pass muster
under the narrow arbitrary and capricious standard of review.
Moreover, Maryland’s denial was not based upon a clear error
of judgment.
22 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
We agree with Maryland’s position that AES’s argument
regarding the thirty-feet depth misunderstands the basis of
Maryland’s denial in that regard. Maryland does not use
thirty-feet as a bright line test for the establishment of anox-
ic/hypoxic conditions. As Maryland logically explains its
rationale, "[i]t is not that aquatic life is impossible at all times
and at all depths below 30 feet . . . , [b]ut the data show[s] that
the pycnocline tends to form within Baltimore Harbor during
the summer months at approximately 30 feet and that, when
it does form, the deeper waters are deprived of the [dissolved
oxygen] necessary to support aquatic life." (Maryland’s Br. at
37). See also (J.A. 901) (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration recounting data showing that anoxic/hypoxic
conditions form in area to be dredged under the Project any-
where between 20 and 40 feet during the summer months);
(J.A. 1290, Final EIS for the Project) ("The past sampling
results of the area indicate that the deeper channel would
probably experience periods of low dissolved oxygen or even
hypoxic periods during the summer months.").
We next address AES’s argument to the effect that Mary-
land should have granted its § 401(a)(1) Certification Request
because, in 2005, Maryland had granted Barletta-Willis, Inc.
a water quality certification with respect to an area to be
dredged within the proposed area to be dredged by AES. The
argument ignores the importance of the Baltimore Harbor
Total Maximum Daily Loads Report (the Baltimore Harbor
TMDL Report), issued by Maryland in December 2006. All
parties agree that such report is designed to establish Total
Maximum Daily Loads for nitrogen and phosphorous dis-
charges into Baltimore Harbor. As Maryland cogently points
out, the Baltimore Harbor TMDL Report, while affirmatively
a pollutant-specific plan that establishes the maximum
amount of particular pollutants that Baltimore Harbor, as a
pollution-impaired waterway, can assimilate without further
exceeding water quality standards, also recognizes the overall
objective to increase areas in Baltimore Harbor that will meet
dissolved oxygen standards. By increasing the areas that will
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 23
not meet dissolved oxygen standards, AES’s proposal to
dredge new channels to forty-five feet of depth run contrary
to the objective and intent of the Baltimore Harbor TMDL
Report—a consideration that was not a factor prior to Mary-
land’s grant of Barletta-Willis, Inc.’s request for § 401(a)(1)
water quality certification.
In sum, upon close examination, AES’s arguments are
insufficient to convince us that Maryland’s denial of its
§ 401(a)(1) Certification Request fails under the arbitrary and
capricious standard or is not in accordance with law.
VI.
In conclusion, we: (1) hold that Maryland waived any
potential claim of sovereign immunity in connection with the
present petition for review by expressly consenting to defend-
ing, in federal court, its decision to deny AES’s Request for
§ 401(a)(1) Water Quality Certification; (2) hold that AES has
failed to establish any basis for us to disturb the Corps’ deter-
mination that Maryland had not waived its right to grant or
deny AES’s § 401(a)(1) Certification Request; and (3) deny
AES’s petition for review of Maryland’s denial of its
§ 401(a)(1) Certification Request on the merits.
PETITION FOR REVIEW DENIED
DAVIS, District Judge, concurring:
I concur in the judgment and in Parts I-IV and VI of Judge
Hamilton’s thorough opinion. I respectfully write separately
because, as to Part V, I would deny the petition for review on
a different ground.
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires a certification
from the state for activities that may result in any "discharge
into navigable waters." 33 U.S.C. § 1341(A)(1). To have a
"discharge" within the meaning of the Act there must be a dis-
24 AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON
charge from a "point source." ONDA v. USFS, 550 F.3d 778,
783-84 (9th Cir. 2008).
In S.D. Warren, the Supreme Court "held that the term ‘dis-
charge’ is not limited to the ‘discharge of a pollutant,’ but
may also include the ‘flowing or issuing out’ of non-
pollutants, or even water." Id. at 783. The dams and turbines
at issue in S.D. Warren were undeniably "point source[s]"
within the meaning of 33 U.S.C. § 1362(14), and the parties
therefore did not question such classification. The Court’s
detailed discussion of the Clean Water Act’s remedial purpose
was thus made in the context of an unquestioned "point
source" out of which water was indisputably being emitted.
Here, I would not reach the question of whether AES’s pro-
posed deep channel dredging would result in a "discharge"
from a "point source," but would instead deny the petition for
review on the basis that Maryland’s decision was not arbitrary
and capricious with respect to Maryland’s third justification
for denial: "Final Pipeline Route and Avoid-
ance/Minimization of Pipeline Impacts."* (J.A. 5). Mary-
land’s denial on such point appears rationally tied to the facts
of the case and AES fails to overcome the presumption in
favor of deeming the agency action valid. Ohio Valley Envtl.
Coalition, 556 F.3d at 192.
Maryland’s stated justification for denial includes AES’s
failure to provide sufficient information such that Maryland
could "determine if the proposed pipeline minimizes impacts
to wetlands and waterways or otherwise violates applicable
water quality standards." (J.A. 5). The information purport-
edly lacking includes the method of crossing and impacts
from crossing a sensitive waterway called "Deer Creek."
Maryland’s concerns regarding the impacts on Deer Creek’s
*AES does not challenge the fact that stream crossings along the pro-
posed pipeline route may result in a "discharge into navigable waters." 33
U.S.C. § 1341(A)(1).
AES SPARROWS POINT v. WILSON 25
water quality were consistently supported by findings of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
which in June of 2008 asserted that an "open-cut" crossing at
Deer Creek was "not-acceptable" due to impacts on spawning
habitat. (J.A. 904). As recently as January of 2009, approxi-
mately three months prior to the issuance of Maryland’s
denial letter, NOAA reiterated its position, this time in bold-
face text, that a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) crossing
and not an "open cut" crossing must be utilized to protect the
sensitive Deer Creek watershed. (J.A. 2155). Maryland’s con-
tention that it lacked sufficient information to determine the
water quality impacts stemming from the Deer Creek crossing
is further supported by the fact that less than a month prior to
the issuance of Maryland’s denial letter the Corps, at AES’s
request, suspended its review of AES’s federal permit appli-
cation due to lack of information, including the lack of "final
drawings" of proposed stream crossings. (J.A. 2481-82).
Finally, a letter from Maryland to AES, discussing a separate
permit application, indicates that both the method and impacts
of several stream crossings, including Deer Creek, remained
unresolved several weeks after Maryland denied the water
quality certification. (J.A. 2483).
Based on the foregoing, I would conclude that AES fails to
establish that Maryland acted in an arbitrary and capricious
manner in denying the permit on this ground.