UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_____________________
No. 94-50260
_____________________
SIERRA CLUB,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
and
GREEN VALLEY SPECIAL UTILITY DISTRICT, ET AL.,
Intervenors-Plaintiffs-Appellees,
versus
BRUCE BABBITT, in His Official Capacity as
Secretary of the Department of the Interior, ET AL.,
Defendants,
STATE OF TEXAS,
Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant.
____________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(CA-MO-91-69)
_____________________________________________________
****************************************************************
_____________________
No. 95-50165
_____________________
SIERRA CLUB,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
GREEN VALLEY SPECIAL UTILITY, ET AL.,
Intervenors-Plaintiffs,
versus
BRUCE BABBITT, in His Official Capacity as
Secretary of the Department of the Interior, ET AL.,
Defendants,
STATE OF TEXAS,
Intervenor-Defendant-Appellant.
____________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
(CA-MO-91-69)
_____________________________________________________
February 26, 1996
Before WISDOM, DUHÉ, and BARKSDALE, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
At issue are only post-judgment matters. And, as noted
previously, it is time for this litigation to end. Because the
district court's appointment of a monitor was reasonable in light
of the morass of post-judgment developments in this case and thus
not an abuse of the court's discretion in effectuating a judgment,
we AFFIRM both the appointment of the monitor and the assessment of
a portion of his costs against Texas. However, because the relief
sought in this action, the creation and dissemination of springflow
information by the federal defendants, has been achieved, all other
issues are moot; we REMAND with instructions to conclude this
action.
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4.
- 2 -
I.
Covering an expanse of about 3,600 square miles, the Edwards
Aquifer stretches through several counties in central Texas. It is
home to five species identified as either "endangered" or
"threatened".1
In 1991, the Sierra Club filed this action against the
Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior and the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the federal defendants)
pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et
seq. Texas governmental entities and private water users
intervened as defendants.2
After a bench trial in May 1993, the district court entered
findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a final judgment. The
court granted the relief sought by the Sierra Club in its amended
complaint -- it enjoined the federal defendants to develop and
disseminate information about the springflows necessary to protect
the species in issue, as well as the minimum water levels in the
aquifer necessary to protect them. See Sierra Club v. Babbitt, 995
F.2d 571 (5th Cir. 1993). The court ordered that Texas prepare an
Edwards management plan; but, it should be noted that Texas sought
such an order. Id. at 574, n.4.
1
The species are the San Marcos salamander, the fountain
darter, the Texas blind salamander, the San Marcos gambusia, and
Texas wild rice.
2
Early in the proceedings, the district court granted the State
of Texas intervention of right pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 24(a).
- 3 -
Several of the intervenor defendants, as well as the federal
defendants, appealed. But, when the Sierra Club agreed to certain
semantic changes in the district court's findings and judgment, the
federal defendants dismissed their appeal. Contending that the
remaining appellants lacked standing to appeal, the Sierra Club
moved to dismiss the appeal. In support, it stated to our court
that its amended complaint
considerably narrowed the relief sought,
eliminating anything that could be construed
as a request that the court order the Federal
Defendants to limit or regulate the pumping of
water from the Edwards. In particular, the
Plaintiffs dropped their request for an
injunction against the Federal Defendants "to
require enforcement of the [ESA] to ensure
that the natural springflow from the Comal
Springs is at least the minimum required flow
at all times", retaining the more modest
request that the Federal Defendants be ordered
to "determine" the biologically required
minimum springflows. The amended complaints,
like the original complaints, sought no relief
against the Intervenor[s]-Defendants, or any
party other than the Federal Defendants.
....
... In the amended pleading upon which
the case below was tried Plaintiffs did not
seek an order directing the [Federal
Defendants] or anyone else to achieve pumping
restrictions or to take any other action that
will mandate pumping reductions. It therefore
simply will not work for the Intervenor[s]-
Defendants to imply that the Judgment below
... "impose[s] severe restrictions upon the
sole, historic water supply of a major city";
or that the court below is attempting ... "to
regulate groundwater pumping throughout a
3,600 square mile area" .... The Judgment
below does no such thing.
(Citations omitted; emphasis in italics in original; emphasis in
bold added.)
- 4 -
Agreeing with the Sierra Club, our court dismissed the appeal
in August 1993. Sierra Club v. Babbitt, 995 F.2d 571 (5th Cir.
1993). Our court recognized that
[t]he appellants allege numerous injuries from
the district court's judgment, but we decide
that the judgment and findings are of no
consequence to them. On its face, the
judgment orders nothing of the appellants.
Nor will the judgment affect the appellants in
any future litigation, because the only issue
necessarily decided by the district court is
that [the] FWS has a nondiscretionary duty to
promulgate springflow information. The
appellants cannot legitimately blame the
judgment for causing any future litigation;
the information ordered by the district court
is in no wise a prerequisite to ESA-
enforcement litigation.
Id. at 575 (emphasis in original).
In November 1993, nearly a year after the bench trial, and
several months after entry of judgment, the Sierra Club moved for
appointment of an expert (a "monitor") to aid the court in
determining whether any state or federal plan complied with the
ESA, and, if not, what action the district court should take.
Relying upon its "inherent equitable power to appoint a person ...
to assist it in administering a remedy", Ruiz v. Estelle, 679 F.2d
1115, 1161 (5th Cir.), amended in part, vacated in part, 688 F.2d
266 (5th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1042 (1983), the court
designated a monitor (Monitor Order).
After appealing the Monitor Order, the State of Texas, on
behalf of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), moved the
district court to stay the monitor's activities, citing, inter
alia, the assessment of costs for the monitor. In response, the
- 5 -
Sierra Club moved to dismiss the TDA; and the district court did so
(TDA Dismissal Order). The TDA Dismissal Order is also on appeal.
Sierra Club sought to amend its complaint to seek relief from
the State of Texas in April 1995. Although the district court
granted leave to amend, our court, by writ of mandamus, overturned
that grant. Later, the Sierra Club moved our court to remand the
case conditionally to allow them to again broaden the scope of this
litigation.
Much of the post-judgment complication arose out of the
troubled birth of a state regulatory entity, the Edwards Aquifer
Authority. The Texas legislature created the EAA in 1993 and
charged it with regulating withdrawals of water from the aquifer,
as well as developing a comprehensive management plan for it. But,
because the creation of the EAA implicated section 5 of the Voting
Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973c, Texas was obligated to obtain
federal approval of the EAA. It was not obtained until after the
July 1995 oral argument in this appeal; this court was notified
that the EAA would begin operation in late August 1995.
However, preclearance was not the sole obstacle for the EAA.
A water conservation district sought injunctive relief in state
court to prevent the EAA from operating, as well as a declaration
that the legislation creating the EAA violated the Texas
Constitution. After imposing a temporary injunction that allowed
the interim directors to be sworn in, to meet, and to defend
themselves, but not to take any action in furtherance of their
legislative mandate to regulate draws from the Edwards, the state
- 6 -
court in late November 1995 declared that the statute creating the
EAA violated the Texas Constitution. The Texas Supreme Court has
slated oral argument for early March 1996.
Dropping back to October 1995, our court, anticipating that
the EAA would become operational and conduct regulatory activities
capable of mooting this appeal, stayed this case and remanded for
findings on justiciability. After the district court made such
findings, the Sierra Club moved this court to lift the stay, so
that the district court's proposed order, prepared concomitantly
with its additional findings, could take effect. (That order,
among other things, would have required the federal defendants to
demonstrate to the district court that the FWS had "implement[ed]
that recovery plan to the point at which reasonable assurance [was]
provided that springflows will never again drop below jeopardy
levels".) This motion and the numerous other pending motions in
our court are rendered moot by this opinion.
On February 14, 1996, the FWS published the long-awaited
recovery plan.3 It includes findings by the FWS on the minimum
3
The plan's publication was delayed by, inter alia, the
government closing occasioned by the budget debate impasse of
December 1995. Moreover, budgetary constraints have further
impeded this process in that another agency within the Department
of Interior, the National Biological Service, has proposed to close
the San Marcos National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center. The
hatchery has conducted research for many years concerning the
species at issue and has been used as a refugium to maintain
captive stocks of those species during drought times. Complicating
matters, the Sierra Club sent the NBS notice of intent to sue under
the ESA if the hatchery were closed. These matters had to be
considered by the personnel responsible for preparing the recovery
plan. (In fact, the Sierra Club filed such an action on February
13, 1996, and the district court has issued a temporary restraining
order preventing the hatchery's closure.)
- 7 -
springflow levels needed to avoid takes under the ESA. (As noted,
the lack of this information was the alleged cause of Sierra Club's
injury. Sierra Club v. Babbitt, 995 F.2d at 574 n.5.) The plan
also addresses maintaining sufficient water in the habitat. Notice
of the plan is to be published in the Federal Register.
II.
At issue are: (1) the district court's authority to appoint
the monitor; (2) the assessment of part of the monitor's costs
against the State of Texas; and, (3) the dismissal of the TDA. In
sum, we hold that: (1) the post-judgment complications, especially
the confusion over the EAA, more than justified the appointment;
(2) the assessment of part of his costs against Texas, which sought
to participate in preparation of a recovery plan, was proper; and
(3) the dismissal of TDA, whether proper or not, is no longer a
live controversy because, with the completion and notice of the
federal recovery plan, the requested relief has been achieved.
A.
As a preliminary matter, we note that we have appellate
jurisdiction over the Monitor and TDA Dismissal Orders. "To be
appealable, an order must be final, it must fall within the
specific class of interlocutory orders made appealable by statute,
or it must fall within some jurisprudential exception." Lakedreams
v. Taylor, 932 F.2d 1103, 1107 (5th Cir. 1991) (footnotes omitted).
1.
In Catlin v. United States, 324 U.S. 229 (1945), the Supreme
Court defined "final decision" for purposes of appeal as "generally
- 8 -
... one which ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing
for the court to do but execute the judgment". Id. at 233. When
appeals are taken from post-judgment orders, however, appellate
courts encounter a dilemma in determining whether the order being
appealed is "final".
Combining the related concepts of practical finality4 and the
collateral order doctrine5, our court, in United States v.
McWhirter, 376 F.2d 102 (5th Cir. 1967), recognized that the
Supreme Court
has held final and appealable ancillary orders
which determine substantial rights of the
parties which, if not promptly reviewed, will
subject the party to irreparable harm. In
such a situation, review postponed amounts to
review denied.
Id. at 105 (citations omitted). The Monitor Order fits this
category.
For reaching this conclusion, it is necessary to examine the
scope of that post-judgment order. In granting the Sierra Club's
motion for the appointment of the monitor, the district court
stated that the monitor's purpose would be to aid it
in determining whether further relief from
this Court is necessary to "avoid unlawful
takings of listed species, any appreciable
reduction in the likelihood of survival and
recovery of listed species in the wild, and
any appreciable diminution of the value of
critical habitat for the survival and recovery
4
See generally, Blossom v. Milwaukee & C.R.R., 68 U.S. 655
(1864) (establishing doctrine of practical finality in post-
judgment context).
5
See generally, Cohen v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp, 337 U.S.
541 (1941).
- 9 -
of any listed species" caused by inadequate
regulation of withdrawals from the Edwards
Aquifer.
In the Monitor Order, the district court authorized the
monitor to gather and analyze information regarding a wide range of
matters that may affect the aquifer, as well as to monitor, on a
continuing basis, inter alia, the efforts of the State of Texas to
regulate withdrawals from it. Additionally, the district court
ordered the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission to
"correct" the plan that its predecessor had submitted previously.
The order directed the monitor to inform the court if any party
"fails or refuses to cooperate fully". Finally, the order remains
in effect until "such time as the State of Texas implements an
adequate regulatory plan or system to prevent violations of the ESA
or until such other time as the Court deems proper, whichever comes
first".
But, as the Sierra Club stated in the earlier appeal, the
final judgment was of narrow scope and breadth, and did not involve
the State of Texas. On the other hand, the Monitor Order exposes
the action or inaction of the State of Texas to supervision by a
court-appointed official. Thus, the order has the potential to
affect substantial rights of the State. We conclude that we
possess appellate jurisdiction.
2.
As for appeal from the TDA Dismissal Order, it is well-
established in our circuit that the denial of a motion to intervene
of right is appealable immediately as a collateral order. E.g.,
- 10 -
Valley Ranch Dev. Co. v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 960 F.2d 550,
555-56 (5th Cir. 1992); Bush v. Viterna, 740 F.2d 350, 351 n.1 (5th
Cir. 1984). The district court's dismissal of the TDA, which had
been granted intervention of right, operates effectively as a
denial of such intervention. Accordingly, we have appellate
jurisdiction over that order as well.
B.
The post-judgment developments in this case are made more
complex by the presence of Texas as a party. Because it sought to
be included in the remedy, when it sought to be ordered to develop
its own plan for management of the Edwards, and then embarked on an
arduous journey to create a regulatory entity, the district court
cannot be faulted for appointing an expert to assist in
effectuating the judgment. The confusion created by the parallel
efforts of the State's legislative action and the Sierra Club's
efforts to enforce the judgment more than justified the appointment
of a monitor.
As stated, our court, in Ruiz v. Estelle, 679 F.2d at 1161,
noted the long-established power of federal courts to appoint an
agent to supervise the implementation of decrees. In view of the
post-judgment events at play, the appointment of a monitor did not
exceed the district court's power.
C.
Texas complains that it cannot be held responsible for part of
the cost of enforcing the judgment, when it ordered nothing of
Texas. We hold otherwise; because Texas injected itself into the
- 11 -
remedial process by asking to participate in the creation of its
own plan for management of the Edwards, it may be held responsible
for bearing a portion of the cost of the monitor.
D.
Whether TDA should have remained a party in an action that is
complete and in which no relief affects TDA simply does not
constitute a justiciable controversy. When it opposed the Texas
appeal of the amended judgment, the Sierra Club defined the scope
of the relief it sought and was granted by that judgment. Because
that relief has now been obtained, as discussed below, there can be
no controversy regarding whether TDA should be a party to this suit
which has concluded in a manner that does not affect TDA.
After the Sierra Club amended its complaint, the defendants
moved to dismiss. In response, the Sierra Club stated the limited
scope of this action:
The relief sought by the Plaintiffs in this
case is really quite narrow. All Plaintiffs
are seeking from this court is an order
compelling the FWS to determine the biological
requirements of the species within a
reasonable time and to notify other interested
parties of these requirements.
And, in response to the federal defendants' motion to dismiss
the original complaint, the Sierra Club defined once again the
limited scope of this action, declaring that
the Sierra Club and GBRA [Guadalupe-Blanco
River Authority] have deliberately sued only
the Federal Defendants, and at this time seek
only:
(1) findings of fact concerning the minimum
springflows required to prevent takings
under [the] ESA ...; and
- 12 -
(2) an order directing the Federal Defendants
to develop and implement a plan "for the
conservation and survival" of the
endangered species at Comal and San
Marcos Springs, under [the] ESA....
Then, as discussed, the Sierra Club further limited its
articulation of the relief sought by advising our court, in its
motion to dismiss the appeal of the intervenor defendants, that
this action had proceeded to trial on the "modest request" that the
federal defendants be ordered to determine minimum springflows.
With publication of the recovery plan, the FWS has announced
those springflow levels required to avoid takes under the ESA in a
comprehensive plan for the conservation and survival of the species
in issue. Thus, all relief sought, all that could be awarded, has
been obtained through this plan.
While the judgment did order the federal defendants to
"implement" the recovery plan once it was created, we conclude that
"implement", in the context of this action, means simply the
publication and notice of the plan. Both our understanding of the
ESA and Sierra Club's assertions regarding the scope of the relief
it sought support this conclusion.6 The recovery plan is
consistent with our conclusion; its "implementation schedule"
6
We note that some uncertainty exists regarding the ESA's
requirement that recovery plans be implemented. See Daniel J.
Rohlf, The Endangered Species Act: A Guide to Its Protections and
Implementation, 89 (1989) (noting courts have yet to interpret
whether duty to implement recovery plans includes duty that
Secretary must undertake activities identified in plans to conserve
species). See also Barbara Craig, "The Federal Endangered Species
Act", 38 OCT Advocate (Idaho), 12 (1994) (explaining that recovery
plans are simply proposals and recommendations lacking force of
law).
- 13 -
provides that the plan does not commit any party to "actually carry
out a particular recovery task or expend the estimated funds".
If the Sierra Club wants additional relief, then it must file
a new action. No amount of post-judgment paper generation can
convert a judgment ordering federal defendants to create and
disseminate information into a judgment enjoining Texas to restrict
pumping from the Edwards. In short, the Sierra Club is stuck with
the limited relief that, in the earlier appeal, it told this court
it sought. If "implement" meant more, then Sierra Club should not
have told this court, in that earlier appeal, that it meant only
the creation and dissemination of information. This action is
over.
III.
For the reasons discussed above, the order appointing the
monitor and assessing his costs is AFFIRMED. Because we hold that,
with the publication and notice of the recovery plan, this action
became devoid of any live controversy, we REMAND with instructions
that the district court take the ministerial steps necessary to
conclude this case promptly.
AFFIRMED and REMANDED
- 14 -