# Amicus Curiae Brief — Massachusetts v. EPA

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40385016_0245%3A36

## Record

- **Collection:** Supreme Court brief
- **Document type:** Amicus Curiae Brief
- **Published:** January 1, 2007
- **Citation:** 549 U.S. 497

## Text

Supra. : me

No. 05-1120

AUG 3 1 6535

OFFICE OF THE Gee

IN THE

Supreme Court of the United States

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, et ai.,
Petitioners,

Vv.

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY, ef ail.,
Respondents.

On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the
United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia

BRIEF OF AMIC! CURIAE OCEAN AND
COASTAL CONSERVATION INTERESTS
IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS

CO —

PATRICK A. PARENTEAU
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL
RESOURCES LAW CLINIC
VERMONT LAW SCHOOL

P.O. Box 300

South Royalton, Vermont 05068
(802) 831-1305

Counsel of Record for Amici Curiae

a
WILSON-EPES PRINTING CO., INC. — (202) 789-0096 — WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001

I.

Il.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE PLAIN LANGUAGE OF SECTION 202
OF THE CLEAN AIR ACT NOT ONLY
AUTHORIZES EPA TO REGULATE AIR
POLLUTANTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO
CLIMATE CHANGE, BUT UPON THE
APPROPRIATE “ENDANGERMENT” FIND-
ING, REQUIRES THAT IT DO SO...................

A. EPA Has Authority to Regulate the Green-
house Gases at [sg0e ...........cccccserssssescessscecees

B. EPA May Not Decline Rulemaking For
Reasons Not Enumerated in Section 202 ....

THE WEIGHT OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
SUPPORTS A FINDING THAT GREEN-
HOUSE GASES “MAY REASONABLY BE
ANTICIPATED TO ENDANGER PUBLIC
HEALTH OR WELFARE” ...2......cccvsseererscosers

A. The Continued Health and Vitality of
Oceans and Coasts is Crucial to Public
es Sree eve

B. Human Activities Are Increasing
Atmospheric Concentrations of Car-
bon Dioxide, Thereby Contributing to
Changes in Climate and the Marine
PE scssiscictsihncinicsensicctientinieetsiiainuipaidaabiaiils

(i)

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued

l.

Increased carbon dioxide levels are
affecting atmospheric and ocean
ii isciciislinneniillncierinnesanbeiemeiinnnin

Increased carbon dioxide levels are
creating a fundamental and detrimental
shift in ocean chemistry ..................::0000

C. Changes to the Ocean Environment Will
Have Major Adverse Effects on Human
Safety, the Economy, and the Natural
IG scsiciciettinssataneteniitiiinbeiciitainaiiigpines

5.

Sea-level rise will have negative
effects on the health and welfare of
U.S. populations in coastal areas...........

Warming and acidification of the
oceans pose grave threats to coral reefs
and will adversely affect all marine life..

Hurricane intensity will likely increase
because of warmer oceans ..............-.--+--

Increased storm damage endangers
U.S. coastal communities ......................

‘Erosion will increase in coastal areas....

GAUGED scsciccrvnciispstcisscimeonepsicnnnpeemieeseniecnnamnatans

APPENDIX

SOOO EEE OEE EEE EEE ETE EERE HEHEHE EEE EEEEEEEEEOEH EH EEEE

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20
20

la

iil

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES Page
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def.
Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984).......cceceseeeee 4
Ethyl Corp. v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 541 F.2d 1
Ss as Se shiibtinisipetiitsSitarinciipiatocineneetecdpeutinds 3, 4,5
FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529
I dicate dncineicesijuliliniieaibinniiiabsastiesinneds 5
Massachusetts v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 415 F.3d
a Cas Sp ncienseintecncnsectniitichinstslesiienintbues 6, 7,8
PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661 (2001)... 5
STATUTES
42 U.S.C. § 7521....... iniciisicinihebliicapibiseianasiptebiatiaiocs 3
42 U.S.C. § 7521(a)(1)........... siinipcthiistieinlnelninidien 2
AN Ts iceniincidciesntinchnsinticndinasiamnnlesiones 3,5
Se Si ci sticereinticiedncsicisiiisliclppnsinciinpaatiipdiics 3
REGULATIONS
68 Fed. Reg. 52,922 (Sep. 8, 2003) ..............eeees 4, 5, 6,7
71 Fed. Reg. 26,852 (May 9, 2006).............cccee0000 16
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. Rep. No. 91-1146 (June 3, 1970), reprinted
bo LEE od on SE: SEO aan 3
H.R. Conf. Rep. 95-564 (Aug. 3, 1977), reprinted
tgs | oe SERN ene 4
COURT RULES
Ss ich iilnihceniideticibiiieudtiianenictisiicinapiedapisntion l
OTHER AUTHORITIES

Alley, R.B., P.U. Clark, P. Huybrechts and I.
Joughin, /ce-sheet and sea-level changes, 310
Science 456-460 (2005)..............cccscsscssrssesseseseees 13

iV
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued

Page
Anthes, R.A., et al., Hurricanes and global
warming—potential linkages and _ conse-
quences, 87 Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society 623-628 (2006)............ 17, 18
Caldeira, K. and M.E. Wickett, Anthropologic
carbon and ocean pH, 425 Nature 365 (2003)... ll

Cayan, D., et al., Projecting Future Sea Level

Rise: A Report for California Climate Change

Coretar QTE TAO OP sciccnvineinticinsszesltisimniiiinndiiasiinss 19
Costanza, R., et al., The Value of the World’s

Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital, 387

NSD SAD (BIW 8 Peicccccicsstscnctaniinniiaitetidinbediniamintiei 8
Crossett, K.M., et al., Population Trends Along

the Coastal United States: 1980-2008 (Nat?!

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

DORAN BOOP scccccintsscctsistinisisnnatwapsiltiammanintinitdes 8
Emanuel, K., Jncreasing destructiveness of

tropical cyclones over the past 30 years, 436 -

Nature 686-688 (2005) .00........cscccsseseseesereeeseeeees 18
Griggs, G.B., Coastal Cliff Erosion in San Diego

County (2002) at http://repositories.cdlib.org/

cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1091 &context=cs

gc (last visited August 29, 2006) ...........sscseees 20
Harley, C.D.G., et al., The impacts of climate

change in coastal marine systems, 9 Ecology

Letters 228-241 (2006).........ssscesessseeseeseeneeses 16, 17
Hays, G.C., A.J. Richardson and C. Robinson,

Climate change and marine plankton, 20

Trends in Ecology and Evolution 337-344

CIID. <cxccssscesvsscensscntasiinetensiisuianmnseiiinasimniants 16, 17
H.J. Heinz III Center for Science, Economics

and the Environment, Evaluation of Erosion

Hazards, Report Brief (2000)...........:s00cceeeeeees 20

Vv

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued

Houghton, J.T., et al. (eds.), Climate Change -

2001: The Scientific Basis, Cambridge Uni-

versity Press, Cambridge, U.K. (2001)......9, 10,

Hoyos, C.D., P.A. Agudelo, P.J. Webster and
J.A. Curry, Deconvolution of the factors con-
tributing to the increase in global hurricane
intensity, 312 Science 94-97 (2006) ..................

Hughes, T.P., et al., Climate change, human
impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs, 301
Badass F2SFS3S (2OGS)....r.ccesrercceecescssecescseccecess

Joughin, 1, W. Abdalati and M. Fahnestock,
Large fluctuations in speed on Greenland’s
Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier, 432 Nature 608-
NEARER SS Se ee vee

Kildow, J. and C. Colgan, California’s Ocean
Economy Report to the Resources Agency,
State of California (July 2008) ................00.00000

King, P., The Fiscal Impact of Beaches in
California. Public Research Institute, San
Francisco State University (September 1999)...

Kleypas, J.A., R.A. Feely, V.J. Fabry, C. Lang-
don, C.L. Sabine and L.L. Robbins, Jmpacts of
Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and other
Marine Calcifiers: A Guide for Future Re-
TE ES

Knutson, T.R. and R.E. Tuleya, /mpact of CO2-
induced warming on simulated hurricane
intensity and precipitation: Sensitivity to the
choice of climate model and convection

Page

13,14

15

14

11,12

parameterization, 17 Journal of Climate 3477- -

Pe tiniicctenincnatnteciotecnniscernnmninnenenasimannats

vi

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued

McFarlane, G.A., J.R. King and R.J. Beamish,
Have there been recent changes in climate?
Ask the fish, 47 Progress in Oceanography
SE Ge ctsncnnntccincisnccenesiieibiaianantiinnsine

National Research Council. Clean Coastal
Waters: Understahding and Reducing the
Effects of Nutrient Pollution. National Acad-
emy Press, Washington, D-C. (2000) ................

National Research Council. Climate Change
Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions.
National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Petit, J.R., et al., Climate and atmospheric
history of the past 420,000 years from the
Vostok ice core, Antarctica. 399 Nature 429-
UT tin stietitinieadiiataatinnaibantindiictadacitshdiiacdidatiiten

Pew Oceans Commission, America’s Living
Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change
(June 2003) ............... PEEL Ee EOS ST

Sabine, C.L., et al., The oceanic sink for anthro-
pogenic CO2, 305 Science 367-371 (2004).......

Titus, J.G. and C. Richman, Maps of lands
vulnerable to sea level rise: Modeled eleva-
tions along the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts,
18 Climate Research 205-228 (2001)................

Trenberth, K.E., Uncertainty in hurricanes and
global warming, 308 Science 1753-1754

Trenberth, K.E. and DJ. Shea, Aflantic
hurricanes and natural variability in 2005,
33 Geophysical Research Letters L12704,
doi: 10.1029/2006GL026894 (2006)..................

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20

11

19

17

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vil
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued

U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, An Ocean

Webster, P.J., G.J. Holland, J.A. Curry and H.-R.
Chang, Changes in tropical cyclone number,
duration, and intensity in a warming envir-
onment, 309 Science 1844-1846 (2005) ........... 18

Wilkinson, C. (ed.), Status of Coral Reefs of the
World: 2004, Australian Institute of Marine -
eI i iiintidinenidichiinstiiiiainaieliaanitatemipidiianeds 15, 16

Wu, S.-Y., R. Najjar and J. Siewert, Jmpact of
Sea-Level Rise on the Mid- and Upper-Atlantic
Coast (Consortium for Atlantic Regional
ee ee 19

Lay, “me a vty i. ee ‘ ‘ f ” hn “th, "
Stow shh , ae * c a nf = tel, ~ c h ‘ =e ees
cE i i at |

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bana tw’ rs

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ' -

Amici are organizations and individuals’ committed to
conservation of ocean and coastal ecosystems that provide a
wide variety of goods and services of tremendous value to
human society including food, commodities, recreation, clean
air, and a dazzling array of marine life that enriches the
quality of life for all Americans. Amici represent a diverse set
of interests and expertise in marine conservation. Some
organizations have been involved in comprehensive marine
conservation and: public education efforts for decades. Some
are scientists and explorers who have devoted their careers to
studying the oceans and improving our understanding of their
value and vulnerability. Others are organizations dedicated to
protecting marine life and rescuing endangered species. Col-
lectively, these organizations speak for millions of Americans
who share a common concern about the impacts of human-
induced climate change on these marine ecosystems, and a
strong desire to do something about it before it is too late.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

Climate change is real. For evidence of its impact, one
need only look to the oceans and coasts of the United States.
Ocean temperatures are increasing. Ocean chemistry is
changing and becoming more acidic. The polar caps are
melting and sea levels are rising. Coastlines are eroding and
estuaries are changing. Hurricanes are becoming more pow-
erful and destructive. Coral reefs are dying and the marine
foodweb is unraveling. Marine life is under increasing stress
as life zones diminish. Human communities closest to the

' All parties have consented to the filing of this brief. Pursuant to this
Court’s Rule 37.6, Amici state that no counsel for any party in this case
authored this brief in whole or in part, and no person other than Amici and
their counsel has made a monetary contribution to the preparation and
submission of this brief.

* A description of the Amici is included in the Appendix.

-—-—-——-—_
,

2

oceans and coasts are bearing the brunt of the profound
changes underway in the marine environment.

There is a strong and growing scientific consensus that all
of these effects are closely linked to the emission of so-called
greenhouse gases, including the four compounds at issue
here—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydro-
fluorocarbons—that Petitioners seek to have regulated under
section 202 of Clean Air Act. EPA declines to act, claiming
that it lacks authority to regulate greenhouse gases, and that
even if it had authority, it would not use it, for policy reasons.
As Petitioners have ably demonstrated in their merits brief,
neither contention is tenable. Rather than belabor the legal
arguments, Amici will briefly review the statutory provisions
that plainly authorize EPA to regulate greenhouse gases, and
then turn to the scientific evidence that would support a
finding that the four pollutants at issue “may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger human health or welfare.” Indeed,
climate change presents a more profound threat to human
health and welfare than anything else regulated under the
Clean Air -ict.

ARGUMENT

I. THE PLAIN LANGUAGE OF SECTION 202 OF
THE CLEAN AIR ACT NOT ONLY AUTHOR-
IZES EPA TO REGULATE AIR POLLUTANTS
THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE,
BUT UPON THE APPROPRIATE “ENDANGER-
MENT” FINDING, REQUIRES THAT IT DO SO.

Section 202 of the Clean Air Act provides:

The Administrator shall by regulation prescribe .. .
standards applicable to the emission of any air-pollutant
from any class or classes of new motor vehicles or new
motor vehicle engines, which in his judgment cause, or
contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be
anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.

42 U.S.C. § 7521(a)(1).

3

In section 302(g) the Act defines “air pollutant[s]” as “any air
pollution agent or combination of such agents, including any
physical {or| chemical . . . substance or matter which is emitted
into or otherwise enters the ambient air... .” 42 U.S.C.
§ 7602(g) (emphasis added). In section 302(h) the Act defines
“welfare” to include “effects on soils, water, crops, vegetation,
manmade materials, animals, wildlife, weather, visibility, and
climate, damage to and deterioration of property, and hazards to
transportation, as well as effects on economic values and on
personal comfort and well-being, whether caused by trans-
formation, conversion, or combination with other air pollutants.”
42 U.S.C. § 7602(h) (emphasis added).

Under section 202, a two-part process is employed for
regulating potentially dangerous pollutants. The Adminis-
trator makes a threshold decision regarding whether a par-
ticular pollutant from new vehicles “cause|s], or contribute[s]
to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to
endanger public health or welfare.” 42 U.S.C. § 7521. If, in
the Administrator’s “judgment,” an air pollutant causes or
contributes to pollution that may be reasonably anticipated to
endanger public health or welfare, that pollutant must be
regulated pursuant to the provisions described in the remain-
der of section 202. /d. The Administrator is to take a broad,
proactive approach to this determination. Before the 1977
Amendments to the Clean Air Act, section 202(a)(1) re-
quired the Administrator to regulate air pollution from motor
vehicles which “endanger(s] the public health or welfare.”
H.R. Rep. No. 91-1146 (June 3, 1970), reprinted in 1970
U.S.C.C.A.N. 5356, 5359. In 1976, the D.C. Circuit inter-
preted the “endangers” language as permitting “regulatory
action to prevent harm, even if the regulator is less than
certain that harm is otherwise inevitable.” Ethyl Corp. v.
Envtl. Prot. Agency, 541 F.2d 1, 25 (D.C. Cir. 1976) (én
banc) (“Ethyl Corp.”). As the D.C Circuit explained:

A statute allowing for regulation in the face of danger is,
necessarily, a precautionary statute. Regulatory action

4

may be taken before the threatened harm occurs; indeed,
the very existence of such precautionary legislation
would seem to demand that regulatory action precede,
and, optimally, prevent, the perceived threat. As should
be apparent, the ‘will endanger’ language of Section
211(c)(1)(A) makes it such a precautionary statute.

541 F.2d at 13.

In 1977, Congress amended section 202(a)(1) and the other
standard-setting provisions in the Clean Air Act to require
regulation where endangerment “may reasonably be antic-
ipated.” H.R. Conf. Rep. 95-564 (Aug. 3, 1977), reprinted in
- 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1502, 1564. This change reflects Con-
gress’s endorsement of the “precautionary approach” de-
scribed in Ethyl Corp., and indicates its intent that EPA be
diligent in identifying and regulating pollutants that may rea-
sonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare.
This requires the Administrator to consider the best available
scientific information, and not wait for conclusive proof, by
which time it may be too late to avoid the harm that the Act
was designed to prevent.

A. EPA Has Authority to Regulate the Green-
house Gases at Issue.

Scientists refer to the four compounds at issue—carbon
dioxide (CO), methane (CHy,), nitrous oxide (N,O), and
hydrofluorocarbons—as greenhouse gases. EPA argues that
it lacks authority to regulate greenhouse gases, claiming that
such substances are not “air pollutants” within the meaning of
the Clean Air Act. See 68 Fed. Reg. 52,922, 52,928 (Sep. 8,
2003). EPA’s argument defies the plain language of the
statute. Section 202 clearly establishes EPA’s authority to
regulate pollutants that affect the climate. See Chevron
U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837,
843 n.9 (1984) (“If a court, employing traditional tools of
statutory construction, ascertains that Congress had an inten-

tion on the precise question at issue, that intention is the law
and must be given effect.”’)

In fact, Congress left EPA little discretion in determining
what qualifies as “air pollutants.” Section 302(g) defines “air
pollutants” to “includ{[e] any physical [or] chemical . . .
substance or matter which is emitted into or otherwise enters
the ambient air.” 42 U.S.C. § 7602(g) (emphasis added).
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluoro-
carbons—as physical and chemical substances that are
emitted into the air — plainly fall within this definition and are
thus within the Administrator’s regulatory authority.

In denying the petition, however, EPA claims that these
four substances are “not air pollutants,” and that it must be
cautious about “using broadly worded statutory authority to
regulate in areas raising unusually significant economic and
political issues when Congress has specifically addressed
those areas in other statutes.” 68 Fed. Reg. at 52,925 (citing
FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529 U.S. 120
(2000)). EPA explains that the only provisions of the Clean
Air Act that specifically mention carbon dioxide or global
warming are non-regulatory. Further, EPA points to Con-
gress’s decision to regulate separately stratospheric ozone
depletion as evidence that when Congress intends to address
climate change, it will do so in separate legislation.

EPA’s arguments simply do not overcome the plain lan-
guage of the Act. Regardless of whether Congress was
contemplating pollutants associated with climate change
when it enacted or amended the Clean Air Act, the definition
of “pollutant” enables EPA to reach new pollution, as well as
old. See Ethyl Corp., 541 F.2d at 13; see also, PGA Tour.
Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661, 689 (2001) (explaining that
Statutes can be applied to situations not expressly anticipated
by Congress). The Administrator is not entitled to turn a
blind eye to advancements in scientific knowledge that reveal
new dangers from substances once considered benign or even

6

beneficial. For example, nitrogen and phosphorous are nutri-
ents necessary for plants and animals to grow and flourish.
But excessive concentrations of these nutrients cause serious
environmental problems and threats to public health. See
National Research Council, Clean Coastal Waters: Under-
standing and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution.
National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 15 (2000) (Ex-
cess nutrients linked to red tides, fish kills, marine mam-
mal deaths, outbreaks of shellfish poisonings, loss of seagrass
habitats, coral reef destruction, and the Gulf of Mexico’s
“dead zone.”).

B. EPA May Not Decline Rulemaking For Rea-
sons Not Enumerated in Section 202.

Alternatively, EPA argues that even if it has authority to
regulate greenhouse gases it is not inclined to do so for
various reasons including, inter alia: the multiple sources of
pollutants that contribute to climate change; the effect of
unilateral regulation of car emissions on international efforts
to reduce emissions; and the Administration’s efforts to
address climate change through other programs. See 68 Fed.
Reg. at 52,931-33. As Petitioners have pointed out, however,
several of these considerations fall well outside the factors
which Congress authorized EPA to consider in implementing
its section 202 authority. See Petition for Certiorari, 14-16.
Section 202(a)(1) assigns the Administrator the responsibility
to determine whether-a-pollutant may reasonably be antici-
pated to constitute an endangerment, but not broad authority
to decline to make an endangerment finding on the basis of a
wide range of policy considerations. As Judge Tatel explains
in his dissenting opinion:

EPA has transformed the limited discretion given to the
Administrator under section 202—the discretion to
determine whether or not an air pollutant causes or con-
tributes to pollution which may reasonably be antici-
pated to endanger public health or welfare—into the

7

discretion to withhold regulation because it thinks such
regulation bad policy. But Congress did not give EPA
this broader authority, and the agency may not usurp it.

Massachusetts v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 415 F.3d 50, 74 (D.C.
Cir. 2005).

' The only decision the Administrator is authorized to make
pursuant to section 202(a)(1) is the decision whether a pol-
lutant causes or contributes to air pollution which may
reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or wel-
fare. The Administrator does not have the discretion to
ignore the standard set forth in section 202 in declining to
regulate. Here, EPA acted outside of its statutory authority in
denying the petition.

ll. THE WEIGHT OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
SUPPORTS A FINDING THAT GREENHOUSE
GASES “MAY REASONABLY BE ANTICI-
PATED TO ENDANGER PUBLIC HEALTH OR
WELFARE.”

One of the reasons EPA cites for not regulating greenhouse
gas emissions under section 202 is “scientific uncertainty.”
68 Fed. Reg. at 52,931-33. However, as pointed out by the
distinguished group of climate scientists who filed an amicus
curiae brief in support of granting the Petition for Certiorari
and who will be submitting a brief on the merits, both EPA
and the panel majority below misrepresent the key findings of
the National Academy of Sciences and National Research
Council in the 2001 report to Congress, Climate Change
Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions. See Brief
Amicus Curiae of Climate Scientists in Support of Petitioners,
17-22. :

In fact, contrary to EPA’s view, there is a strong scientific
consensus that increasing levels of greenhouse gases, particu-
larly carbon dioxide, are already having a dramatic impact on
ocean systems and all life, including humanity, that depend

8

upon them. To be sure, there is still considerable uncertainty
regarding the magnitude and timing of the changes that are
likely to occur. But these very uncertainties carry significant
risks of potentially irreversible and catastrophic consequences
that argue for prudent action now.

A. The Continued Health and Vitality of Oceans
and Coasts is Crucial to Public Health and
Welfare.

In 2003, it was estimated that 153 million Americans, or
53% of the United States population, lived in U.S. coastal
counties. Kristen M. Crossett et al., Population Trends Along
the Coastal United States: 1980-2008, 1 (Nat’| Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, September 2004). See also,
Massachusetts v. F.’A, 415 F.3d at 79. The estimated socio-
economic value of global ocean and coastal ecosystems is $21
trillion per year through food production, recreation, nutrient
recycling, climate regulation, and the oceans’ influence over
the chemical composition of the atmosphere. R. Costanza et
al., The Value of the World's Ecosystem Services and Natural
Capital, 387 Nature 253 (1997). In the United States, coastal
watershed counties contribute over $4.5 trillion per year, half
of the nation’s gross domestic product, involving about 60
million jobs—many of which are tied to industries directly
dependent on healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems and living
resources, such as recreation, tourism, and fisheries US.
Commission on Ocean Policy, An Ocean Blueprint for the 2]st
Century Final Report, 32-33 (2004). The United States has an
extraordinary interest in preserving and protecting the popu-
lation and industries of the coastal areas.

Coastal fisheries and coastal dependant industries in the
United States are large economic contributors. The total
value of U.S. commercial fisheries was over $3 billion in
2001. J. Kildow and C. Colgan, California’s Ocean Economy
Report to the Resources Agency, State of California, 35 (July
2005). California beaches alone generate $14 billion in direct

9

revenues, contribute $73 billion to the national economy,
generate $2.6 billion in direct federal taxes, generate $14
billion in indirect taxes, and provide over 883,000 jobs.
Philip King, The Fiscal Impact of Beaches in California, 3.
Public Research Institute, San Francisco State University
(September 1999). On average, a 12-inch rise in sea level
would inundate 100 feet of dry beach, greatly reducing the
area and recreational amenities of many beaches. Increased
storminess combined with the direct inundation from sea
level would reduce many of the southern California recrea-
tional beaches to narrow, hazardous strips of sand with ocean
waves on the seaward side and urban development on the
inland side. Shore protection would escalate while beach
recreation, tourism revenues, taxes and jobs would plummet.

B. Human Activities Are Increasing Atmospheric
Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide, Thereby
Contributing to Changes in Climate and the
Marine Environment.

Most of this discussion focuses on the effects of higher
carbon dioxide levels on the ocean environment. Carbon
dioxide is the primary contributor among a suite of
atmospheric gases that contribute to climate change. Present-
day levels of about 370-380 parts per million by volume
(ppmv) are unprecedented over the past 420,000 years.
Based on historic data (derived from Greenland and Antarctic
ice cores,) concentrations of carbon dioxide did not rise much
above 280 ppmv prior to the industrial revolution. Today,
carbon dioxide levels are increasing at a rate of 1.5 ppmv per
year, with the primary sources being fossil fuel burning and
tropical deforestation. Depending on the level of future
emissions, concentrations could reach 800-900 ppmv by the
year 2100. See J.T. Houghton et al. (eds.), Climate Change
2001: The Scientific Basis, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, U.K. (2001) (“Houghton et al.”); National Re-
search Council, Climate Change Science: An Analysis of

10

Some Key Questions, National Academy Press, Washington,
D.C., 3 (2001) (“Climate Change Science”); J.R. Petit et al.,
Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years
from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica, 399 Nature 429-436,
433 (1999).

1. Increased carbon dioxide levels are affect-
ing atmospheric and ocean temperatures.

The world’s climate is warming; it is going to get much
warmer; and humans are significantly responsible. There is
scientific consensus that the observed global warming over
the past century—of 0.4 to 0.8°C (0.7 to 1.5°F)—is due to
increases in greenhouse gas concentrations and that this
warming has been particularly strong over the past 20 years.
In confirming this finding by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), the United States National Research
Council also affirmed the scientific validity of the IPCC’s
prediction that warming would increase by the end of the
century by 1.4 to 5.8°C (2.5 to 10.4°F).’ This warming will
be greater over higher latitudes. Houghton et al. at 26;
Climate Change Science at 3.

2. Increased carbon dioxide levels are creating
a fundamental and detrimental shift in ocean
chemistry.

Through the absorption of a substantial portion of the
carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, the oceans are
becoming more acidic, with dramatic consequences for
organisms from corals to the planktonic foundation of marine
food webs. |

* The National Research Council’s review of the state of climate sci-
ence at the White House’s request reaffirmed the scientific soundness of
the IPCC’s projections of greenhouse gas loadings in the atmosphere,
global warming, ocean warming, and sea-level rise. See Climate Change
Science at 22-23.

On timescales of several thousands of years, the oceans
will ultimately absorb about 90 percent of the carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere. However, because of slow mixing time,
the ocean has only taken up about 30 percent of the carbon
dioxide emitted in the past twenty years or so. From 1800 to
1994, the ocean has absorbed about 48 percent of fossil-fuel
and cement-manufacturing emissions. C.L. Sabine et al.,
The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2, 305 Science 367-
371 (2004).

While this “ocean sponge” effect has certainly forestalled
more pronounced climate change above the surface, it is
substantially lowering pH and saturation states of the car-
bonate minerals, making it increasingly difficult for the many
major groups of marine organisms that use these minerals to
build skeletons and shells. Assuming carbon dioxide emis-
sions continue at the current pace, surface water pH levels
will decrease by 0.4 pH units relative to the preindustrial
level by 2100, lower than it has been in millions of years.
J.A. Kleypas, R.A. Feely, V.J. Fabry, C. Langdon, C.L.
Sabine and L.L. Robbins, /mpacts of Ocean Acidification on
Coral Reefs and other Marine Calcifiers: A Guide for Future
Research, Report of a workshop held 18-20 April 2005 in St.
Petersburg, Fla., sponsored by NSF, NOAA, and the U.S.
Geological Survey, 69 (2006) (“Kleypas et al.””); see also, K.
Caldeira and M.E. Wickett, Anthropologic carbon and ocean
PH, 425 Nature 365 (2003).

Calcifying organisms are sensitive to changes in ocean
chemistry; even small changes will have large impacts, and it
is clear that their ability to grow calcium carbonate shells and
skeletons will decrease with increasing acidification. Extrap-
olations of laboratory experiments indicate that calcification
rates will decrease up to 60 percent during the 21st century.
This reduction will affect individual corals and the ability of
reefs to maintain a positive balance between reef building and
reef erosion, which is the process by which corals’ calcium

12

carbonate skeletons are rubbed, scraped, and chewed away by
a combination of physical forces and reef fish. Kleypas et al.
at 1, 5.

Basic chemistry dictates that as carbon dioxide levels in
seawater increase, not only will calcification decrease, but, at
some point, calcium carbonate skeletons will also dissolve.
Although there are many questions about the particulars of
organism survival and ecosystem effects, it is clear that at
some threshold level of carbon dioxide, reef dissolution will
exceed calcification—the reef equivalent of osteoporosis.
Although that may occur at different times and in different
ways from reef to reef, it will be yet another substantial blow
to the prospects for reef survival. /d. at 26-27.

There are also a variety of planktonic calcifying organisms,
many of which form an important foundation of marine food
webs. As with corals, there is clear evidence that elevated
carbon dioxide levels reduce calcification in these species. In
fact, data suggest that in some plankton species, this is not a
linear relationship as it is among corals, but rather that there
may be a threshold value below which there will be sudden
and large decreases in calcification rates. /d at 30. And, as
with corals, it is not yet known whether or how planktonic
calcifiers can adapt to reduced calcification rates. /d. at 31.
However, since calcification does confer advantages to these
species, decreased calcification is likely to compromise their
fitness and thus impact marine food webs, which would
substantially alter the biodiversity and productivity of the
ocean. /d. at 69.

C. Changes to the Ocean Environment Will Have
Major Adverse Effects on Human Safety, the
Economy, and the Natural Environment.

Although a relatively slow process compared to the warm-
ing of the atmosphere, the warming of oceans is occurring by
virtue of their interaction with the air above them. Since the

13

1950s, the top 10,000 feet of the oceans have warmed by an
average of 0.05°C (0.09°F), Climate Change Science at 16.
Temperatures at the sea surface, where hurricanes are
spawned and corals live, have warmed 0.4 to 0.8°C since the
late 1800s. Houghton et al. at 35. The implications of this
warming are numerous and serious from a public health and
welfare perspective. Among these implications are:

1. Sea-level rise will have negative effects on the
health and welfare of U.S. populations in
coastal areas.

The changing climate causes sea level to rise in two basic
ways: warmer Ocean waters take up greater volume and melt-
ing glaciers and ice fields increase water supply to the oceans.

Estimates of sea-level rise over the past century range from
0.10 to 0.20 meters, with average rates of 1.0 to 2.0 mm per
year. Scientists consider it very likely that global warming
during this period contributed substantially to these increases.
There is a great deal of historical support for this conclu-
sion; the correlation among past changes in atmospheric
carbon dioxide, global warming, and changes in global sea
level is well represented in the geologic record. Houghton
et al. at 641, 643; see also, R.B. Alley, P.U. Clark, P.
‘Huybrechts and I. Joughin, /ce-sheet and sea-level changes,
310 Science 456-460 (2005).

Based on climate change projections, scientists consider it
highly likely that sea levels will increase between 0.09 and
0.88 meters for 1990 to 2100, with a central value of 0.48
meters. This represents an increase of 2.2 to 4.4 times the
20th century rate. Houghton et al. at 642.

Although this steady increase is documented, there is
concern by scientists that the ice caps in Greenland and
Antarctica could melt, causing even greater sea level rise.
Recent reports point to startling changes at the margins of the
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets which indicate that projec-

14

tions of sea-level rise need to be revised upward. The
collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002 was followed by an
acceleration of its major tributary glaciers by two- to eight-
fold, contributing about 0.07 mm per year to sea-level rise.’
Alley et al. at 458. This process is also playing out along the
Amundsen Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. /d

Similar warming-caused losses of glacier-restricting ice
shelves along the coast of Greenland have led to increased
contributions to sea-level rise of up to 0.09 mm per year. I.
Joughin, W. Abdalati and M. Fahnestock, Large fluctuations
in speed on Greenland’s Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier, 432
Nature 608-610 (2004). For some time, the West Antarctic
ice sheet (WAIS) has been the subject of great scientific focus
because it contains enough ice to raise sea levels by 6 meters
and is relatively unstable. Houghton et al. at 642.

2. Warming and acidification of the oceans pose
| grave threats to coral reefs and will adversely
affect all marine life.

Immersed in warming oceans, sensitive marine organisms
must adapt, alter their geographic distribution (i.e., shift
poleward), or face extinction. There is scientific evidence for
all of these responses. Degradation of marine life will
negatively affect U.S. population by affecting food suppli-
ers, coastal fisheries, marine biological diversity, and the
economy.

Coral reefs are among the most sensitive ecosystems to
climate change, and the most conservative estimates suggest

“It is the melting of land-based glaciers and ice caps that increases sea
levels, just as pouring water in a bucket causes the level to rise. On the
other hand, ice shelves, which float on the water surface, do not add
directly to sea-level rise as they melt (just as ice melting in a drink does
not cause the level of liquid to rise). But, ice shelves do block the flow of
glaciers like dams, and when the shelves break apart, land-based ice flows
more rapidly to the sea, increasing the rate of sea-level rise.

15

that half of all reefs will be destroyed by 2030-2050. C.
Wilkinson ed. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004, 25.
Australian Institute of Marine Science (2004) (“Wilkinson”).
Much more than their beauty and recreational value will be
lost. Coral reefs buffer shorelines from storms and erosion
and provide home, food, and nursery for tens of thousands of
marine species. They provide an estimated $375 billion per
year in goods and services worldwide, with approximately
500 million people dependent upon them for food, materials,
or income. The U.S. has a significant stake in the fate of reef
systems worldwide. Approximately half of all U.S.-managed
commercial fish species depend on coral reefs for at least a
portion of their life cycle. U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
at 321-22.

Extinction due to increases in sea-surface temperatures is a
real prospect for shallow-water, tropical corals. It is clear that
many corals are operating within very close margins of their
thermal tolerance, with bleaching occurring for many species
at about 1°C above mean summer maximum temperatures,
and causing widespread concern as this threshold will be
chronically exceeded as temperatures rise over the next 50
years. T.P. Hughes et al., Climate change, human impacts,
and the resilience of coral reefs, 301 Science 929-933, 930
(2003). There is evidence that at least some corals and their
algal symbionts (called zooxanthellae, which provide nour-
ishment and lend color to corals) may be able to adapt to
increasing temperatures, but it is not clear that they will be
able to adapt quickly enough to keep pace with the accel-
erating rate of environmental change. /d

Evidence from the field is not encouraging. About 20
percent of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively
destroyed as a result of increasing sea-surface temperatures and
show no immediate prospects for recovery. Another 24
percent of them are under imminent risk of collapse, and a
further 26 percent are under a longer-term threat of collapse.

_

16

Wilkinson at 7. Caribbean reefs are in catastrophic decline,
with two of the major reef-building coral species in this area—
staghorn and elkhorn—tecently listed as endangered under the
U.S. Endangered Species Act. /d. at 14; 71 Fed. Reg. 26,852
(May 9, 2006) (to be codified at 50 C.F.R. pt. 223).

A major global bleaching event in 1998 destroyed 16
percent of the world’s coral reefs, with most of the damage in
the Indian Ocean (50 percent destroyed) and the western
Pacific. Unfortunately, what was then a once-in-a-thousand-
years event will become a regular occurrence within 50 years
based on projections of tropical sea-surface temperature
increases in the range of | to 3°C by 2100. Wilkinson at 21.

Ocean warming is having an impact on the distributions of
other important species. For example, warm-water popula-
tions of copepods, small marine organisms that form a vital
link in the food web as a food source for the larvae of many
commercial and non-commercial marine fish, have moved
1,000 km northward in the northeast Atlantic over the past 40
years, accompanied by retraction in the range of their cold-
water cousins. G.C. Hays, A.J. Richardson and C. Robinson,
Climate change and marine plankton, 20 Trends in Ecology
and Evolution 337-344, 339 (2005) (“Hays et al.”). Similar
shifts have been shown among marine snails, corals and fish.
C.D.G. Harley et al.. The impacts of climate change in
coastal marine systems, 9 Ecology Letters 228-241, 234
(2006) (“Harley et al.”). Some of these adjustments can be
abrupt, affecting the survival of not only the adjusting spe-
cies, but also many others, with huge implications for
commercial fisheries and the basic functioning of marine
ecosystems. Hays et al. at 340; G.A. McFarlane, J.R. King
and RJ. Beamish, Have there been recent changes in
climate? Ask the fish, 47 Progress in Oceanography 147-69
(2000).

If species that otherwise depend on one another, for
instance as predator and prey, respond differently to ocean

17

warming, the consequences can be significant. There is
evidence of warming-induced mismatches in the timing of the
spawning of certain zooplankton, the arrival of fish larvae,
and blooms of the phytoplankton they eat, thus jeopardizing
the survival of fish species and potentially affecting com-
mercial fisheries. Harley et al. at 232; Hays et al. at 342.

Alteration of aquatic habitats and species distributions by
warming temperatures also exacerbates problems with inva-
sive species, making native populations more susceptible to
invasion. U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy at 253.

3. Hurricane intensity will likely increase
because of warmer oceans.

There is growing evidence that the theoretical link between
warming seas and hurricane intensity exists in fact, based on
broad confluence of theory, modeling and observations. R.A.
Anthes et al., Hurricanes and global warming—poteniial
linkages and consequences, 87 Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society 623-628 (2006) (“Anthes et al.”); see
also T.R. Knutson and R.E. Tuleya, Jmpact of CO2-induced
warming on simulated hurricane intensity and precipitation:
Sensitivity to the choice of climate model and convection
parameterization, 17 Journal of Climate 3477-3495 (2004);
K. Trenberth, Uncertainty in hurricanes and global warming,
308 Science 1753-1754 (2005). Nonetheless, this assertion
remains controversial.’ Tropical sea-surface temperatures
have risen by about 0.6°C since measurements began and
about 0.5°C of that increase has occurred since 1970. Anthes
et al. at 624. Record sea-surface temperatures (0.9°C above

* The debate involves questions about the possible underestimation of

the intensity of historic tropical cyclones, thus making more recent storms

- appear stronger by comparison. In addition, accurate assessments of

tropical cyclone intensity, based on satellite data, are relatively recent.

Thus, there is a need for additional data to allow formal statistical con-
firmation of conclusions based on this evidence.

18

the norm) in the area critical for hurricanes contributed to the
most active North Atlantic hurricane season on record in
2005; about half of that temperature anomaly can be attrib-
uted to global warming. K.E. Trenberth and D.J. Shea,
Atlantic hurricanes and natural variability in 2005, 33
Geophysical Research Letters L12704, doi:10.1029/2006GL
026894 (2006).

A careful review of global data confirms a trend toward
more frequent intense (category 4 and 5) storms over the past
30 years, a trend directly linked to increases in sea-surface
temperatures. P.J. Webster, G.J. Holland, J.A. Curry and H.-
R. Chang, Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and
intensity in a warming environment, 309 Science 1844-1846
(2005); C.D. Hoyos, P.A. Agudelo, P.J. Webster and J.A.
Curry, Deconvolution of the factors contributing to the in-
crease in global hurricane intensity, 312 Science 94-97
(2006); K. Emanuel, /ncreasing destructiveness of tropical
cyclones over the past 30 years, 436 Nature 686-588 (2005)
(“Emanuel”). ,

Even if tropical storms do not change markedly in intens-
ity, rising sea levels, beach and wetland erosion, and storm
surges will ensure increased damage along increasingly de-
veloped shorelines. Climate Change Science at 4; Anthes et
al. at 624. Hurricanes are already the costliest natural events
in the United States, accounting for a significant fraction
of damage, injury and loss of life from natural hazards.
Emanuel at 686. .

4. Increased storm damage endangers U.S.
coastal communities.

Large swaths of low-lying coastal lands around the United
States are extremely vulnerable to any increase in sea level.
As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated, such areas are already
vulnerable to erosion, flooding, storm surges, and tsunamis;
and poor development planning has placed trillions of dollars -

19

worth of buildings and infrastructure directly in the path of
these threats. Further, higher sea levels interact with tides
and storms to create more destructive impacts, as extreme
high water levels occur with more frequency. Dan Cayan et
al., Projecting Future Sea Level Rise: A Report for California
Climate Change Center, 18 (March 2006) (“Cayan et al.”).
Approximately 58,000 square kilometers of land along the
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States lie
below 1.5 meters above sea level. Louisiana, Florida, Texas,
and North Carolina account for more than 80 percent of these
low-lying areas. In fact, North Carolina alone has as much
land within one meter of sea level as the Netherlands. J.G.
Titus and C. Richman, Maps of lands vulnerable to sea level
rise: Modeled elevations along the US Atlantic and Gulf
Coasts, 18 Climate Research 205-228 (2001).

In California, a 30 cm (12 inch) rise in sea level would
shift the 100-year storm surge-induced flood event to once
every 10 years. Cayan et al. at 18. Even a small rise in sea
level would be accompanied by large amounts of coastal
flooding, inundation and storm damage. Along the San
Diego coast, model results demonstrate approximately 10
extreme water level events between 2070 and 2100 if there is
no increase in sea level. Over the same time period there
would be approximately 330 extreme events with a rise in sea -
level of 20 cm, 2,300 extreme events with a rise of 40 cm,
and almost 19,000 events with a rise of 80 cm. /d. at 23-29.

For the 85 coastal counties from Massachusetts to Virginia,
approximately one thousand square miles of land area lies
below 3 feet, which includes about 70 square miles of
developed land, 3,000 miles of roads, and about 388,000
people. S.-Y. Wu, R. Najjar and J. Siewert, /mpact of Sea-
Level Rise on the Mid- and Upper-Atlantic Coast (Con-
sortium for Atlantic Regional Assessment, 2005).

20
5. Erosion will increase in coastal areas.

Each year, erosion along U.S. shorelines will claim about
1,500 homes and the property they occupy at a cost of about
$530 million annually. The H. John Heinz III Center for
Science, Economics and the Environment, Evaluation of
Erosion Hazards, Report Brief, 2 (2000). According to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, by 2060, coastal
erosion will have threatened nearly 87,000 homes in U.S.
coastal areas. G.B. Griggs, Coastal Cliff Erosion in San
Diego County (2002) at http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/view
content.cgi?article=1091&context=csge (last visited August
29, 2006).

The nature and extent of human development has severely

- undermined the ability of natural coastal features, such as

wetlands and mangrove forests, to survive increasing seas.
Under normal circumstances, they can accrete sediment to
keep pace with, and retreat in the face of, rising sea levels.
However, dams and levees impede the flow and deposition of
sediments, a situation played out with devastating conse-
quences in the Mississippi delta in Louisiana. The delta has
lost more than |,000_square miles since 1950, and continues
to lose 25-35 square miles per year through the combination
of sea-level rise, land subsidence, and erosion. At this pace,
more that 630,000 acres of Louisiana wetlands will disap-
pear by 2050. Pew Oceans Commission, America’s Living
Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change, 54 (June 2003).

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Amici respectfully urge the
Court to reverse the Court of Appeals and direct that the case
be remanded to EPA with instructions for making a proper
determination under section 202 of the Clean Air Act.

Respectfully submitted,

PATRICK A. PARENTEAU
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL
RESOURCES LAW CLINIC
VERMONT LAW SCHOOL

P.O. Box 300

South Royalton, Vermont 05068
(802) 831-1305

Counsel of Record for Amici Curiae

* Counsel wishes to acknowledge Christophe A. G. Tulou of Christophe
Tulou Associates for his substantial contributions to this brief.

APPENDIX

la
APPENDIX
LIST OF AMICI CURIAE

American Littoral Society (ALS). Currently comprised
of over 6,000 professional and amateur naturalists, ALS seeks
to encourage a better scientific and public understanding of
the marine environment and provide a unified voice advo-
cating protection of the delicate fabric of life along the shore.

Cetacean Society International (CSI). CSI advocates for
laws and treaties that prevent habitat destruction and mini-
mize cetacean killing and captures, while maximizing human
activities that neither harm nor harass, but instead enhance
public awareness of and concern for cetaceans and the marine
environment.

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). With
nearly ten million members and constituents, The HSUS is
the nation’s largest animal protection organization. The
HSUS strives to protect, conserve, and enhance the nation’s
wildlife and wildlands while also promoting the humane
treatment of all animals, including marine life. In particular,
The HSUS, together with its international arm, The Humane
Society International, has an extensive array of domestic and
international programs that focus specifically on concerns
facing marine environment and encourages its members to
weigh in on these issues by contacting leaders and decision-
makers. Additionally, HSUS submits comments on a wide
range of issues pertaining to marine mammals and their envir-
onment and litigates complex cases to preserve marine life.

International Wildlife Coalition Inc. (IWC). Founded in
1984, the Coalition is dedicated to public education, research,
rescue, rehabilitation, litigation, legislation and international
treaty negotiations concerning global wildlife and natural
habitat protection issues.

2a

Jean-Michel Cousteau. The president of Ocean Futures,
Jean-Michel Cousteau has been a voice of concern for oceans
in countries across the world for decades. He served as a
spokesman on water issues at the United Nations World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, at the
3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, and at the Dialogues on
Water for Life and Security in Barcelona.

Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI). Our
mission is to advance the science of marine conservation
biology and secure protection for ocean ecosystems.

Nantucket Soundkeeper/Alliance to Protect Nantucket
Sound (APNS). Our goal is to protect Nantucket Sound in
perpetuity through conservation, environmental action, and
Opposition to inappropriate industrial or commercial develop-
ment that would threaten or negatively alter the coastal
ecosystem.

The Ocean Conservancy. The oldest and largest organi-
zation solely dedicated to ocean conservation, we represent
150,000 members on ocean conservation issues. We promote
healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and oppose practices
that threaten ocean life and human life.

Ocean Futures Society. Ocean Futures Society, a non-
profit marine conservation and education organization, serves
as a voice for the ocean by communicating in all media the
critical bond between people and the sea and the importance
of wise environmental policy.

Oceans Public Trust Initiative (OPTI). OPTI is a project
of the Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal
Project and our mission is to ensure that the public trust

interest in ocean and coastal areas is fully protected by state
and federal governments.

Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS).
PCCS conducts scientific research with emphasis on marine

3a

mammals of the western North Atlantic and on the coastal
and marine habitats and resources of the Gulf of Maine. Our
mission includes promoting stewardship of coastal and
marine ecosystems and working on issues of habitat protec-
tion, ecosystem management, marine mammal and marine
wildlife conservation.

SeaWeb. SeaWeb is a communications-based nonprofit
organization dedicated to advancing ocean conservation.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (North Amer-
ica) (WDCS (NA)). WDCS (NA) is a MA incorporated not-
for-profit and is part of the WDCS group. Established in
1987, WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales,
dolphins and their environmeni.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40385016_0245%3A36. Public record. Not legal advice.