Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District, et al. v. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al.
AdministrativeLaw SocialSecurity Immigration JusticiabilityDoctri
Whether the final NEPA procedures promulgated by federal agencies fail the two-pronged test in Bennett v. Spear for finality under the Administrative Procedures Act if they do not apply the rules they created to actual programs or projects
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1) The National Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4331 et seq. (2012) mandates that all federal agencies consider environmental impacts before acting. The Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”), which is responsible for guiding the implementation of NEPA, has mandated that all agencies promulgate NEPA procedures through Notice and Comment rulemaking to use for their NEPA compliance. Do the final NEPA procedures so promulgated fail the two pronged test in Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154 (1997) for finality under the Administrative Procedures Act if they do not in themselves apply the rules they thus created to actual programs or projects? 2) Does a plaintiff have standing to challenge procedural violations of immigration related actions if the plaintiff can show: 1) the agency violated its procedural obligations; 2) these procedural obligations were meant to protect plaintiffs concrete interests, and 38) it is reasonably probable that the challenged action will threaten plaintiffs concrete interests? i