State of Nevada v. Burford

918 F.2d 854 32 ERC 1225 , 21 Envtl. L. Rep. 20 ,349 STATE OF NEVADA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert F. BURFORD, Director of Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior; Edward F. Spang, Nevada State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior, Defendants- Appellees. No. 89-15272. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Aug. 16, 1990. Decided Nov. 14, 1990. Harry W. Swainston, Deputy Atty. Gen., Carson City, Nev., for plaintiff-appellant. George W. Vancleve, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Before WALLACE, ALARCON and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges. WALLACE, Circuit Judge: 1 Nevada appeals from the dismissal of its complaint against the Bureau of Land Management (Bureau), in which Nevada alleges that the Bureau improperly granted a right-of-way to the Department of Energy (Department) to conduct site characterization studies at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The district court concluded that Nevada lacked standing to pursue this action, and dismissed the complaint. The district court exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1331 .…