Summary of a Recent
Judicial Development in
Environmental Law

Court Allows Parties to Intervene in Suit Between
Environmental Group and National Forest

Eric H. Foy
National AgLaw Center Research Associate

Summary of Decision

In Greater Yellowstone Coalition v. Timchak, No. CV-08-388-E-MHW, 2008 WL 4911410 (D. Idaho Nov. 13, 2008), the United States District Court for the District of Idaho held that J.R. Simplot Company, the United Steelworkers Local 632, the City of Pocatello, and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation met the test for intervention as a matter of right pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 24(a). In the alternative, the court also found that permissive intervention was available to intervenors because FRCP 24(b) only required that an intervenor's claim or defense share a common question of law or fact with the main action, and that the intervention will not "unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the original parties' rights." The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and other groups brought suit against Timchak, the National Forest Supervisor, seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against the expansion of phosphate mines in national forest territory. The intervenors sought to join the lawsuit to protect their interests.

Background

J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) obtained authorization from the defendants to expand its phosphate mine in Caribou County, Idaho, into adjacent lease areas to address its approaching needs for new sources of phosphate. Id. at *1. Simplot produced liquid and dry phosphate-based fertilizer used by farmers throughout North America. Id. After the defendants authorized the expansion of the mine, the plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated the Clean Water Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act; requested the court to set aside the defendants' Final Environmental Impact Statement and Records of Decision authorizing expansion of the mine; and requested preliminary and permanent injunctions against expansion of the mine. Id. In response to the plaintiffs' complaint, the intervenors sought to join the lawsuit to protect a variety of interests that would be impacted by any resulting delay in expansion or closure of the mine. Id.

Arguments

The intervenors argued that there would be a loss of tax revenue, a loss of wages and benefits by Simplot's employees, business losses in the communities located around the mine, and an impact on farmers who relied on the fertilizer produced at the local fertilizer production plant. Id

Analysis and Holdings

In the Ninth Circuit, to qualify for intervention as a matter of right, a moving party must timely file an application for intervention; the applicant must have a significantly protectable interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action; the applicant must be situated so the disposition of the action may impair or impede the applicant's ability to protect its interest; and the applicant's interest must not be adequately represented by the existing parties to the lawsuit. Id. at *2. The court stated that FRCP 24(a), which governs intervention as a matter of right, should be construed liberally in favor of the moving party and guided by practical and equitable considerations. Id. In the case at bar, the intervenors timely filed each of their motions and proposed answers before the preliminary injunction hearing; they showed that closure of the Simplot facility would have direct, immediate, and harmful effects on the surrounding area's economy; they showed that, unless they were made parties to the lawsuit, they would lose the opportunity to make the court aware of the specific extent of the impact of any closure on their respective interests; and they explained their need to show the court the specific impacts they would face. Id. at *3-4. For these reasons, the court granted the intervenors' motions to join the instant lawsuit as named parties. Id. at *5.

The case was decided on November 13, 2008.