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Show Full Text of Decisions of the Federal and State Courts Involving Environmental Law NATIONAL HELIUM v. MORTON U. S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit N A T I O N A L H E L I U M CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellee, and PHILLIPS PETROLEUM COMPANY and CITIES SERVICE HELEX, INC., Inter-venor- Plaintiff-Appellees, v. ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary of the Interior, and ELBURT F. OSBORN, Director, Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, Nos. 73- 1169 and 73-1449, October 19, 1973 LAND 1. Federal, state, and local regulation - Administrative agencies - In general (§8.601) Federal, state, and local regulation - Administrative agencies - Judicial review - In general (§8.6811) Court jurisdiction and procedure - In general (§15.01) Federal district court has jurisdiction under National Environmental Policy Act to hear suit charging that Department of Interior failed to comply with Act in terminating helium purchase contracts, although court's review of termination is strictly limited to determining whether department complied with Act. 2. Federal, state, and local regulation - Administrative agencies - In general (§8.601) Federal, state, and local regulation - Administrative agencies - Judicial review - In general (§8.6811) Department of Interior's preparation of environmental impact statement concerning termination of helium purchase contracts is not "agency action" subject to federal district court review under Administrative Procedure Act's "arbitrary and capricious" standard, but is subject to review only as to whether statement constitutes objective good faith compliance with National Environmental Policy Act. 3. Federal, state, and local regulation - Administrative agencies - In general (§8.601) National Environmental Policy Act is satisfied by Department of Interior's environmental impact statement that considers environmental impact of termination of helium purchase contracts, that discusses unavoidable adverse environmental effects of termination, that considers alternatives to termination, that discusses future needs and supplies of helium, and that weighs current costs of termination as opposed to possible future costs. STATUTES Federal - National Environmental Policy Act (§95.011) Construed. Raymond D. Battocchi, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (Harlington Wood, Jr., assistant attorney general, Irving Jaffe, acting assistant attorney general, Morton Hollander, and Irwin Goldbloom, Department of Justice, Washington; Robert J. Roth, U. S. attorney, Wichita, Kans., on the brief), for defendants- appellants. Robert L. Ackerly, of Sellers, Conner & Cuneo, Washington (Emmet A. Blaes, of Jochems, Sargent & Blaes, Wichita; Raymond S. E. Pushkar, of Sellers, Conner & Cuneo, Washington; and Wendell J. Doggett, Houston, Tex., on the brief), for plaintiff-appellee National Helium. William H. Allen, of Covington & Burling, Washington (Joseph W. Kennedy, of Morris, Lain, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Wichita, and Eugene D. Gulland, of Covington & Burling, Washington, on the brief), for intervenor-plaintiff- appellee Phillips Petroleum. Daniel R. Hopkins, Oklahoma City, Okla. (William J. Sears, Oklahoma City; Mark H. Adams, Mark H. Adams, II, and William S. Richardson, of Adams, Jones, Robinson, & Malone, Wichita; and R. Price Howard, Bar-tlesville, Okla., on the brief), for intervenor-plaintiff- appellee Cities Service Helex. Full Text of Opinion Before BREITENSTEIN, HILL and DOYLE, Circuit Judges. 1001 |
