HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiff-Appellant Belle Company, L.L.C. owns property in the Parish of Assumption. Plaintiff-Appellant Kent Recycling, L.L.C. has an option to purchase the property in the event that it can be used as a solid-waste landfill. In February 2012, Defendant-Appellee United States Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") issued a jurisdictional determination ("JD") stating that the property contains wetlands that are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. Belle and Kent (collectively, "Belle") sued, alleging that the JD is unlawful and should be set aside. The district court dismissed the suit for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, concluding that the JD is not "final agency action" and therefore is not reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.
The Clean Water Act ("CWA") prohibits, among other things, the "discharge of any pollutant" into "navigable waters" unless authorized by a permit. 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1344. The CWA defines navigable waters as "the waters of the United States." 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7). Under Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1344, the Corps has authority to issue permits, termed 404 permits, for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into navigable waters. The regulations that govern the permitting process authorize the Corps to consult with potential permit applicants prior to receiving, processing, and issuing or denying individual permits. 33 C.F.R. § 325.1(b). The regulations also authorize the Corps "to issue formal determinations concerning the applicability of the Clean Water Act ... to activities or tracts of land and the applicability of general permits or statutory exemptions to proposed activities." 33 C.F.R. §§ 320.1(a)(6); 325.9. The Corps has an administrative appeal process through which it reviews an initial JD. 33 C.F.R. § 331.
Belle's property has a long history. In 1991, the Corps informed Belle that the property correctly was designated as prior-converted cropland by the United States Department of Agriculture ("DOA") and thus did not constitute wetlands under the CWA. In 1993, the Corps and the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") promulgated a final rule that excluded property designated as prior-converted cropland from the definition of waters of the United States. 33 C.F.R. § 328.3(a)(8). In 1995, the DOA informed Belle that the property was prior-converted cropland and not a wetland under the 1990 Food and Security Act. In 2003, however, the Corps informed Belle that any prior correspondence as to the property's wetland status was not valid and that the property did constitute wetlands subject to Corps regulation. Subsequently, the Natural Resources Conservation Service ("NRCS") issued a technical determination, based on earlier findings, that the property was commenced-conversion cropland.
In 2005, NRCS and the Corps jointly promulgated guidance, which stated that a previous designation as prior-converted cropland would be valid if a property was devoted to agricultural use but not if it had
In May 2009, Belle submitted to the Corps an application for a 404 permit to "conduct clearing and excavation activities to facilitate construction of a regional landfill" on the property. In June 2009, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality ("LDEQ") sent a letter to Belle, stating that the Corps had made a determination that a large portion of the proposed landfill site was considered wetlands. LDEQ further stated that Belle's Louisiana solid-waste permit would require a major modification that reflected the wetlands requirements in Louisiana regulations, LAC 33:VII.709.A.7-8, and that Belle should submit its major-modification application no later than 120 days after it received a decision on its 404 permit application. Belle subsequently abandoned its 404 permit application.
Almost two years later, in January 2011, on Belle's request and after a field inspection by a district engineer, the Corps issued an initial JD, which stated that part of the property was wetlands and subject to the CWA such that, as Belle apparently previously had sought, a 404 permit would be required prior to filling the site. Belle appealed the decision through the Corps's administrative appeal process. After an appeal meeting, site visit, and review, the division engineer found that portions of Belle's administrative appeal had merit. On remand, after additional investigation and review, the Corps upheld the determination that part of the property is wetlands.
Belle sued in district court for declaratory and injunctive relief to set aside the JD as unlawful. The district court granted the Corps's motion to dismiss on the ground that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Belle's claims because the JD is not final agency action reviewable in court under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). Belle timely appealed. On appeal, Belle argues that the district court has subject-matter jurisdiction to review its three claims: (1) that the JD is arbitrary and capricious and should be invalidated; (2) that the administrative appeal process, as applied to Belle, unconstitutionally deprived Belle of liberty and property interests without due process of law; and (3) that the Corps promulgated the change-in-use policy without the proper APA rulemaking procedures, and in violation of an injunction, and improperly applied that policy in the JD.
We review de novo a district court's dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1). Ctr. for Biological Diversity, Inc. v. BP Am. Prod. Co., 704 F.3d 413, 421 (5th Cir.2013). "The United States may not be sued except to the extent it has consented to such by statute." Shanbaum v. United States, 32 F.3d 180, 182 (5th Cir.1994). The APA provides such a waiver for claims "seeking relief other than money damages." 5 U.S.C. § 702; see King v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 728 F.3d 410, 416 (5th Cir.2013); Armendariz-Mata v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, Drug Enforcement Admin., 82 F.3d 679, 682 (5th Cir.1996). Where, as here, no relevant agency statute provides for judicial review, the APA authorizes judicial review only of "final agency action for which there is no other adequate
"As a general matter, two conditions must be satisfied for agency action to be final: First, the action must mark the consummation of the agency's decisionmaking process — it must not be of a merely tentative or interlocutory nature. And second, the action must be one by which rights or obligations have been determined, or from which legal consequences will flow." Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 177-78, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). "In evaluating whether a challenged agency action meets these two conditions, this court is guided by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the APA's finality requirement as `flexible' and `pragmatic.'" Qureshi v. Holder, 663 F.3d 778, 781 (5th Cir.2011) (citing Abbott Labs. v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 149-50, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967)). "The APA's judicial review provision also requires that the person seeking APA review of final agency action have `no other adequate remedy in court.'" Sackett v. EPA, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 1367, 1372, 182 L.Ed.2d 367 (2012) (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 704).
In Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1371, the Supreme Court revisited the issue of final agency action under the CWA. The Sacketts filled a portion of their undeveloped property with dirt and rocks in preparation for building a house. Id. at 1370. The EPA then issued a compliance order that contained findings that the property contained wetlands under the CWA and that the Sacketts had discharged fill material into the wetlands. Id. at 1370-71. The order directed the Sacketts immediately to undertake restoration of the property per an EPA plan and to provide to the EPA access to the site and all documentation relating to the site. Id. at 1371. The Sacketts disagreed with the order, but the EPA denied their request for a hearing. Id. The Sacketts sued, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, holding that the CWA precludes pre-enforcement review of compliance orders. Id.
The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the CWA does not preclude judicial review under the APA. Id. at 1374. The Court concluded that an EPA compliance order is a final agency action under the APA. Id. As to Bennett prong one, the order "marks the consummation of the agency's decisionmaking process" because "the Findings and Conclusions that the compliance order contained were not subject to further agency review." Id. at 1372. Furthermore, "[t]he mere possibility that an agency might reconsider in light of informal discussion and invited contentions of inaccuracy does not suffice to make an otherwise final agency action nonfinal." Id. As to Bennett prong two, the order determines rights or obligations because "[b]y reason of the order, the Sacketts have the legal obligation to restore their property according to an agency-approved Restoration Work Plan, and must give the EPA access to their property and to records and documentation related to the conditions at the Site." Id. at 1371 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Further, legal consequences flow from issuance of the order because "the order exposes the Sacketts to double penalties in a future enforcement proceeding. It also severely limits the Sacketts'
Belle argues that the Court's decision in Sackett compels the conclusion that the JD is reviewable final agency action.
First, to be final the JD "must mark the consummation of the agency's decisionmaking process." Bennett, 520 U.S. at 177-78, 117 S.Ct. 1154. Where an agency has "asserted its final position on the factual circumstances underpinning" its action, that is an indication that it marks the consummation of the decisionmaking process. See Alaska Dep't of Envtl. Conservation v. EPA, 540 U.S. 461, 483, 124 S.Ct. 983, 157 L.Ed.2d 967 (2004). Where an action has proceeded through an administrative appeal process and is not subject to further agency review, that too is an indication that the action marks the consummation of the decisionmaking process. See Peoples Nat'l Bank v. Office of Comptroller of Currency of U.S., 362 F.3d 333, 337 (5th Cir.2004) (concluding that agency notification was not consummation of decisionmaking process where regulated party had not yet utilized administrative appeal process); Exxon Chem. Am. v. Chao, 298 F.3d 464, 467 (5th Cir.2002) (concluding that agency remand order was not consummation of decisionmaking process because there remained a possibility that regulated party might prevail in its administrative action).
Prior to Sackett, in Fairbanks N. Star Borough v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 543 F.3d 586, 591 (9th Cir.2008), the Ninth Circuit concluded that a JD marks the consummation of the Corps's decisionmaking process because the Corps "has asserted its ultimate administrative position regarding the presence of wetlands on Fairbanks' property on the factual circumstances upon which the determination is predicated." The JD marks the consummation of a formal procedure for parties to solicit the Corps's "official position" about the scope of CWA jurisdiction. Id. at 592. The district court below also concluded that the JD is the consummation of the Corps's decisionmaking process because there will be no further agency decisionmaking on the issue.
The Court's reasoning in Sackett as to Bennett prong one reinforces the conclusion that the JD is the consummation of the Corps's decisionmaking process. A JD is "a written Corps determination that a wetland and/or waterbody is subject to regulatory jurisdiction under" the CWA. 33 C.F.R. § 331.2. Once a JD has proceeded through the administrative appeal process, the final JD is not subject to further formal review by the agency. See 33 C.F.R. § 331.9. Corps regulations further
Through the JD, the Corps has asserted its final position on the facts underlying jurisdiction — that is, the presence or absence on Belle's property of waters of the United States as defined in the CWA. See Alaska Dep't of Envtl, Conservation, 540 U.S. at 483, 124 S.Ct. 983; Fairbanks, 543 F.3d at 593 (finding that a JD "announces the Corps' considered, definite and firm position about the presence of jurisdictional wetlands on [the] property at the time it is rendered"). This is evidenced by the fact that the JD was subject to, and proceeded through, an extensive administrative appeal process within the Corps and hence is termed a "final" JD. See 33 C.F.R. § 331.9; Peoples Nat'l Bank, 362 F.3d at 337; Exxon Chem., 298 F.3d at 467.
We conclude that the JD marks the consummation of the Corps's decisionmaking process as to the question of jurisdiction.
Second, to be final the JD must be an action "by which rights or obligations have been determined, or from which legal consequences will flow." Bennett, 520 U.S. at 178, 117 S.Ct. 1154 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Where "the action sought to be reviewed may have the effect of forbidding or compelling conduct on the part of the person seeking to review it, but only if some further action is taken by the [agency]," that action is nonfinal and nonreviewable because it "does not of itself adversely affect complainant but only affects his rights adversely on the contingency of future administrative action." Rochester Tel. Corp. v. United States, 307 U.S. 125, 129-30, 59 S.Ct. 754, 83 L.Ed. 1147 (1939);
Prior to Sackett, all of the courts, including ours, that had considered the question held that a JD does not determine rights or obligations or have legal consequences and thus is not final agency action. See Fairbanks, 543 F.3d at 597; Greater Gulfport Properties, LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 194 Fed.Appx. 250, 250 (5th Cir.2006) (per curiam) (unpublished); Comm'rs of Pub. Works of City of Charleston v. United States, 30 F.3d 129, 1994 WL 399118, at *2 (4th Cir.1990) (per curiam) (unpublished); Coxco Realty, LLC v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, Civil Action No. 3:06-CV-416-S, 2008 WL 640946, at *4-5 (W.D.Ky. Mar. 4, 2008); St. Andrews Park, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Army Corps of Eng'rs, 314 F.Supp.2d 1238, 1244-45 (S.D.Fla.2004); Child v. United States, 851 F.Supp. 1527, 1534-35 (D.Utah 1994); Hampton Venture No. One v. United States, 768 F.Supp. 174, 175-76 (E.D.Va. 1991); Route 26 Land Dev. Association v. U.S. Gov't, 753 F.Supp. 532, 539-40 (D.Del. 1990); Lotz Realty Co. v. United States, 757 F.Supp. 692, 695-97 (E.D.Va.1990).
Since Sackett, the few courts, including the district court below, that have considered the question have reasoned to the same conclusion. See Hawkes Co., Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 963 F.Supp.2d 868, 873-78 (D.Minn.2013) (holding that a Corps JD is not final agency action); Nat'l Ass'n of Home Builders v. EPA, 956 F.Supp.2d 198, 209-212 (D.D.C.2013) (explaining that a Corps determination that a property contains traditional navigable waters is practically indistinguishable from a JD and thus is not final agency action).
Indeed, the Court's reasoning in Sackett as to Bennett prong two highlights the determinative distinctions between a JD and an EPA compliance order. First, and foremost, the compliance order independently imposed legal obligations because it ordered the Sacketts promptly to restore their property according to an EPA-approved plan and give the EPA access to site records and documentation. Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1371-72. By contrast, the JD is a notification of the property's classification as wetlands but does not oblige Belle to do or refrain from doing anything to its property. It notifies Belle that a 404 permit will be required prior to filling, and we are cognizant that the Corps's permitting process can be costly for regulated parties. See Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 721, 126 S.Ct. 2208, 165 L.Ed.2d 159 (2006). But even if Belle had never requested the JD and instead had begun to fill, it would not have been immune to enforcement action by the Corps or EPA. See Luminant, 757 F.3d at 442, 2014 WL 3037692, at *3 ("The Clean Air Act and the Texas SIP, not the notices, set forth Luminant's rights and obligations."). Indeed, prior to Belle's request for a JD, the Corps informed Belle that even if no JD issued, that "does not alleviate your responsibility to obtain the proper DA permits prior to working in wetlands that may occur on this property."
Second, the compliance order in Sackett itself imposed, independently, coercive consequences for its violation because it "expose[d] the Sacketts to double penalties in a future enforcement proceeding," Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1372. By contrast, the JD erects no penalty scheme. It imposes no penalties on Belle. And neither the JD nor Corps regulations nor the CWA require Belle to comply with the JD. See Luminant, 757 F.3d at 443, 2014 WL 3037692, at *3 ("[N]othing in the Clear Air Act requires a regulated entity to `comply' with a notice."). Belle argues that one factor in calculating civil and criminal penalties in a future enforcement action is Belle's "good faith efforts to comply" with the CWA, which could be undermined because the JD alerts Belle to the presence of wetlands on its property. See 33 U.S.C. § 1319. However, the use of the JD in assessing future penalties is speculative, whereas in Sackett the order caused penalties to accrue pending restoration of the property. See Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1372; Fairbanks, 543 F.3d at 595 (noting that § 1319(d) does not mention JDs or assign them specific evidentiary weight, so the speculative penalties could be a practical effect but not a legal consequence) (citing Ctr. for Auto Safety v. NHTSA, 452 F.3d 798, 811 (D.C.Cir.2006)); see also Energy Transfer Partners v. F.E.R.C., 567 F.3d 134, 141-42 (5th Cir.2009) (explaining that the "expense and annoyance of litigation," although a substantial burden, "is different in kind and legal effect from the burdens attending what heretofore has been considered to be final agency action") (quoting Standard Oil, 449 U.S. at 242, 244, 101 S.Ct. 488).
Fourth and finally, the compliance order in Sackett determined that the Sacketts' property contained wetlands and that they had discharged material into those wetlands in violation of the CWA. See Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1369-70. In other words, the order resolved that the Sacketts had violated the CWA and hence were subject to penalties and had to restore their property. See Sackett, 132 S.Ct. at 1373 ("As the text (and indeed the very name) of the compliance order makes clear, the EPA's deliberation over whether the Sacketts are in violation of the Act is at an end."). Indeed, the EPA compliance order was based, in part, on a finding that the Sacketts' property contained wetlands subject to CWA jurisdiction, see id. at 1370; yet the Court did not rely on that jurisdictional finding as the basis for its decision but relied instead on the consequences that flowed from the compliance order. See id. at 1371-72.
By contrast, the JD does not state that Belle is in violation of the CWA, much less issue an order to Belle to comply with any terms in the JD or take any steps to alter its property. See Luminant, 751 F.3d at 442-44, 2014 WL 3037692, at *3 (distinguishing between an EPA notice of violation of the Clean Air Act and the compliance order in Sackett and concluding that the former was not final agency action). Moreover, while the Corps, responsive to Belle's own inquiry, has made a determination as to the presence of wetlands on Belle's property, it renders no regulatory opinion as to Belle's ultimate goal to build
We hold that the JD is not reviewable final agency action under the APA and affirm the district court's dismissal of this claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Belle argues second that the Corps's administrative appeal process deprived Belle of its liberty and property
Belle raised a facial challenge to the Corps's administrative appeal process below, but on appeal raises only an as-applied challenge to the Corps's conduct in Belle's administrative appeal process. Belle argues that this due-process claim provides an independent basis for jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Section 1331 provides federal-question jurisdiction for the due-process claim. See Stockman v. FEC, 138 F.3d 144, 151 n. 13 (5th Cir.1998) (noting that APA does not create an independent grant of jurisdiction but that jurisdiction exists under § 1331 and that APA then serves as waiver of sovereign immunity). However, "28 U.S.C. § 1331 is a general jurisdiction statute and does not provide a general waiver of sovereign immunity." Shanbaum, 32 F.3d at 182 (citing Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc. v. Reilly, 889 F.2d 1380, 1385 (5th Cir.1989)). Thus, Belle must prove that the government waived its immunity. See Taylor-Callahan-Coleman, 948 F.2d at 956 (explaining that § 1331 afforded jurisdiction over plaintiff's due process and APA claims against Department of Labor but that plaintiff still had to establish a waiver of sovereign immunity under APA's final-agency-action requirement); see also Smart v. Holder, 368 Fed.Appx. 591, 593 (5th Cir.2010) (unpublished) (affirming dismissal of due-process claim against DOJ where none of the statutes plaintiff cited provided waiver of immunity) (citing Boehrns v. Crowell, 139 F.3d 452, 462-63 (5th Cir.1998); S. Sog, Inc. v. Roland, 644 F.2d 376, 380 (5th Cir. Unit A May 1981)).
Belle argues third that the Corps promulgated the change-in-use policy in the Stockton Rules, in violation of APA rulemaking requirements, and that the Corps violated a nationwide injunction when it applied the Rules in the JD for Belle's property. The district court similarly did not reach this claim. Again, we may affirm on any ground in the record. Gilbert, 751 F.3d at 311.
On their face the Stockton Rules apply only to the Corps's Jacksonville District, and even then only to five applications for approved JDs that were pending at the time. Nothing in the Stockton Rules purports to apply to Belle's property or even to the New Orleans District. Further, nothing in the JD purports to apply the Stockton Rules to Belle's property. Indeed, although the Corps division engineer in Belle's administrative appeal found no evidence that the district engineer had used the Stockton Rules, in an abundance of caution he prohibited the district engineer from using them on remand.
Additionally, the Stockton Rules govern properties classified as prior-converted cropland, and Belle's property was classified as commenced-conversion cropland at least as early as 2003. Belle cites New Hope Power Co. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 746 F.Supp.2d 1272 (S.D.Fl.2010), which held that the Stockton Rules were final agency action that violated the APA's rulemaking requirements and enjoined the Corps from using them. But the New Hope Power court characterized the Stockton Rules as governing prior-converted cropland. Id. at 1274. Moreover, Belle was not a party to that case. Thus, it is not clear how any action with regard to the Stockton Rules would redress Belle's alleged injury. See Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak, ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 2199, 2210, 183 L.Ed.2d 211 (2012) ("This Court has long held that a person suing under
If the Stockton Rules are relevant to the determination of this case, it is only insofar as Belle challenges their alleged presence in the JD. As identified to us, the record does not bear out that proposition; moreover, the JD is not reviewable final agency action for the reasons discussed above. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's dismissal of this claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
We AFFIRM the district court's judgment.
65 F.R. 16,486-01 (Mar. 28, 2000). Thus, the Corps does not interpret the above language to mean final agency action for APA purposes. Under Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452, 461, 117 S.Ct. 905, 137 L.Ed.2d 79 (1997), an agency's interpretation of its own regulation receives deference unless it is plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation. See also Decker v. Nw. Envtl. Def. Ctr., ___ U.S. ___, 133 S.Ct. 1326, 1337, 185 L.Ed.2d 447 (2013); Elgin Nursing and Rehabilitation Ctr. v. U.S. Dept. Of Health and Human Servs., 718 F.3d 488, 492-93 (5th Cir.2013). Regardless, the regulations' language is not dispositive. See Exxon Chem., 298 F.3d at 467 n. 2; Veldhoen v. U.S. Coast Guard, 35 F.3d 222, 225-26 (5th Cir. 1994); Hampton Venture, 768 F.Supp. at 175; Lotz Realty, 757 F.Supp. at 697.