Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs., No. 09-14194
In Miccosukee Tribe of Indians v. US Army Corps of Eng'rs., No. 09-14194, an action challenging the federal government's plans to replace a mile of the ground-level Tamiami Trail with a bridge to increase the flow of water into Everglades National Park, the court affirmed the dismissal of the action where a spending bill partially repealed the environmental laws that plaintiff was invoking, and thus, the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
As the court wrote: "The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (the Tribe) filed two lawsuits challenging the federal government's plans to replace a mile of the ground-level Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41) with a bridge, to increase the flow of water into Everglades National Park. The district courts dismissed the Tribe's claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and we have consolidated the Tribe's appeals of those decisions. The district courts concluded that language Congress inserted in a spending bill partially repealed the environmental laws that the Tribe was invoking. The Tribe challenges that interpretation, and asserts the rulings violate the Constitution on several counts. For the following reasons, we conclude that the act of Congress deprived the federal courts of subject matter jurisdiction over the Tribe's claims. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the district courts."
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