preemption UNITED STATES v. MORROS,No. 00-173309th Circuit10/15/01

 

 

Supremacy Clause is sufficient to confer federal court jurisdiction US v. MORROS

Court: U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Topic: Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
Title: US v. MORROS
Date: 10/15/01
Case Number: 00-17330
Summary:

United States' permit applications may still "stand as an
obstacle" to the Act's accomplishment for two reasons. First,
Congress may have preempted the field of nuclear waste disposal.
The Supreme Court has not yet decided this issue,42 but,
as we noted in Watkins, the NWPA clearly says that there will
be a national nuclear waste repository and that the site of this
repository will be recommended by the President and
approved by Congress.43 Second, even if Congress has not
occupied the field of nuclear waste disposal, "state law is still
pre-empted to the extent it actually conflicts with federal law."44
Nevada Revised Statute 459.910 may "conflict" with federal
law by purporting to make a decision on a state level that the
NWPA contemplates will be made by the national government.
The fact that the NWPA contemplates state participation
through the notice of disapproval strengthens this
argument.45 Thus, we hold that the United States' preemption
argument is substantial and that 28 U.S.C. § 1331 therefore
supplies jurisdiction in this case.

In addition to jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.§ 1331, the
federal court has jurisdiction to hear this case under 28 U.S.C.§
1345. That statute provides the district courts with original
jurisdiction of all civil actions commenced by the United
States. The Nevada district court recognized that the statute
granted it jurisdiction by virtue of the fact that the United
States was the plaintiff in the case. Therefore, regardless of
the outcome of federal question jurisdiction, the district court
has independent subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.§ 1345.

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The federal government's claim that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act preempted Nevada state law prohibiting nuclear waste storage in state under the Supremacy Clause is sufficient to confer federal court jurisdiction.

 

US v. MORROS10/15/0100-17330Supremacy Clause jurisdiction