Citizens for Constitutional Integrity v. United States

── Citizens for Constitutional Integrity v. United States ── Case No.: 25-1006 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 07, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-1006 Document: 53-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals PUBLISH Tenth Circuit April 7, 2026 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Christopher M. Wolpert FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court _________________________________________________________ CITIZENS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY; SOUTHWEST ADVOCATES, INC., Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. No. 25-1006 THE OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT; DOUGLAS J. BURGUM, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of the Interior; GLENDA OWENS, in her official capacity as Acting Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; LAURA DANIEL DAVIS, in her official capacity as Senior Advisor to the Secretary, exercising the delegated authority of the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management; and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendants - Appellees. ----------------------------- GCC ENERGY, LLC, Intervenor - Appellee.  Appellate Case: 25-1006 Document: 53-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 2 ___________________________________________ APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO (D.C. No. 1:21-CV-00923-GPG-STV) ___________________________________________ Jared S. Pettinato, The Pettinato Firm, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiffs– Appellants. Peter M. Torstensen, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General (Adam R.F. Gustafson, Acting Assistant Attorney General, and Allen M. Brabender, Attorney, with him on the briefs), U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Washington, D.C., for Defendants–Appellees. Adam T. DeVoe and Michelle C. DeVoe, DeVoe Law, Denver, Colorado, for Intervenor–Appellee GCC Energy, LLC. ___________________________________________ Before HARTZ, BACHARACH, and CARSON, Circuit Judges. ___________________________________________ BACHARACH, Circuit Judge. _____________________________________________________ This case involves a request to expand an underground coal mine. The request triggered statutory requirements, such as administrative approval of a revision to the mine operator’s permit. See 30 U.S.C. § 1261. A federal agency approved the revision; but the agency then encountered challenges from two advocacy groups, Citizens for Constitutional Integrity and Southwest Advocates, Inc. These challenges concerned the potential effect of the expansion on water resources. The challenges rely on the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, 30 U.S.C. §§ 1270 and 1276. Section 1270 provides a remedy when an 2  Appellate Case: 25-1006 Document: 53-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 3 agency fails to carry out nondiscretionary obligations. Citizens for Const. Integrity v. United States, 70 F.4th 1289, 1308–09 (10th Cir. 2023). And Section 1276 allows judicial review when the challenger participated in the agency’s permit-review process. Id. at 1312–14. These statutes don’t fit the advocacy groups’ challenges. 1. The operator obtained approval to expand the mine. The operator (GCC Energy, LLC) had a permit to operate the mine, which is located beneath Indian lands. In 2018, GCC Energy wanted to expand the mine. To do so, GCC Energy asked the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to approve revision of