Charles Starbuck v. City and County of San Francisco

The present appeal gives renewed vitality to the long-time dispute over the delivery of hydroelectric power from the Hetch Hetchy Valley to the Bay Area. Appellants, residents, taxpayers, and consumers of electricity in San Francisco, allege that San Francisco’s present “wheeling” arrangement with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company violates Section 6 of the Raker Act of December 19, 1913, ch. 4, 38 Stat. 242 , establishing the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a resource of water and electric power. Appellees are the City and County of San Francisco [“San Francisco”], Pacific Gas and Electric Company [“PG&E”] and the Secretary of The Interior [“the Secretary”]. The district court granted San Francisco’s and PG & E’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim because it concluded that the Raker Act did not create a private cause of action in favor of appellants. It also granted summary judgment in favor of the Secretary with respect to appellants’ claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701 , 702 (1967), and the mandamus statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (1976). The district court determined that these claims were barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity and were…