Center for Biological Diversity v. Tennessee Valley Authority

A federal district court in Tennessee dismissed a lawsuit brought by Center for Biological Diversity and other organizations to compel the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to respond to a petition requesting that TVA curtail financial support for third-party organizations that engage in lobbying and other advocacy in opposition to environmental protections. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to establish either organizational or associational standing.

Center for Biological Diversity and five other organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Tennessee challenging the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) response to their petition requesting that TVA adopt regulations limiting its ability to pay funds to third-party organizations such as trade associations and industry groups that the plaintiffs allege work against the interests of TVA ratepayers. The plaintiffs alleged that TVA had paid certain “Utility Regulatory Groups” millions of dollars for advocacy work and that the groups’ actions included opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as well as opposition to specific greenhouse gas emission regulations. The plaintiffs asserted that TVA’s response to their petition violated the Administrative Procedure Act because it failed to “meaningfully respond” to the petition and because its delay in resolving the matters raised by the petition amounted to action unreasonably delayed or withheld.