## Facts

- The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) creates a federal framework for solid-waste regulation, with Subtitle D covering nonhazardous solid waste and certain small-quantity hazardous waste.
- Under RCRA § 4005(c), states must submit solid-waste permitting plans to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review and approval.
- RCRA defines Indian tribes as “municipalities,” not “states,” and does not address municipalities submitting Subtitle D permitting plans for EPA approval.
- The Campo Band of Mission Indians sought to operate a landfill on its reservation and submitted a Subtitle D solid-waste permitting plan to EPA for approval.
- EPA approved the tribe’s permitting plan, concluding it had statutory authority to do so.
- A citizens’ group and a nearby resident petitioned for review, arguing EPA lacked authority because § 4005(c) authorizes approval only of plans submitted by states.

## Issues

1. Whether RCRA § 4005(c), which directs state submission of solid-waste permitting plans and defines tribes as municipalities, authorizes EPA to approve a tribal solid-waste permitting plan.
2. Whether statutory silence regarding tribal plan submissions creates ambiguity permitting EPA to approve tribal plans under Chevron.

## Decision

- The court granted the petition for review and vacated EPA’s approval of the tribal permitting plan.
- The court held that RCRA does not authorize EPA to approve solid-waste permitting plans submitted by Indian tribes under § 4005(c).
- Applying Chevron step one, the court concluded the statutory text resolves the question and leaves no gap for EPA to fill through interpretation.
- Because the statute was clear at step one, the court did not reach Chevron step two.

## Legal Principles

- Under Chevron step one, when Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue, an agency may not adopt a contrary interpretation.
- Statutory silence does not by itself create ambiguity that permits an agency to expand its own authority, particularly where the statutory structure specifies who is empowered to invoke an approval process.
- Where a statute assigns plan submission and approval to “states” and separately classifies tribes as “municipalities,” an agency cannot treat tribes as states absent express statutory authorization.
- Comparison to other environmental statutes may confirm congressional intent: when Congress intends tribes to be treated as states for program implementation, it typically provides explicit language.

## Conclusion

The D.C. Circuit held that RCRA Subtitle D limits EPA’s permitting-plan approval authority to plans submitted by states, and that EPA could not rely on statutory silence to approve a tribe’s plan where Congress defined tribes as municipalities and did not authorize municipal submissions.


Backcountry Against Dumps v. EPA, 100 F.3d 147 (D.C. Cir. 1996)