Madison v. Tulalip Tribes

MEMORANDUM **

Appellant Guy Madison challenges the district court’s grant of summary judg *500 ment disposing of his challenges to a general permit for storm water discharges the government issued to the Tulalip Tribes. This case is moot, and we dismiss it for lack of authority to hear it.

Madison claims that the government failed to conduct an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment as required by the National Environmental Protection Act 2 in May of 2000 when the Tulalip Tribes obtained coverage under a 1998 regional National Pollution Discharge Elimination System storm water construction general permit to discharge storm water in connection with a construction project. In June of 2002 however, the Tribes completed the construction project and filed a “Notice of Termination” ending coverage under the permit. Moreover, the 1998 permit expired in 2003 and was replaced at that time by a new general permit due to expire in 2008. Therefore, the question of whether the EPA should have complied with NEPA when it extended coverage under the 1998 general permit is no longer live.

Both parties argue that the case is not moot because the life span of the Tribes’…