source: Caselaw Access Project

author: Per Curiam.

license: Public Domain

text:
    RODRIGUEZ v. UNITED STATES
    No. 86-5504.
    Decided March 23, 1987
   Per Curiam.

In the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 (CCCA), Pub. L. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1976, Congress provided that anyone who commits a felony while on release pending judicial proceedings must be sentenced to at least two years’ imprisonment in addition to the sentence imposed for the underlying felony. 18 U. S. C. §3147 (1982 ed., Supp. III). Under the Probation Act, 18 U. S. C. § 3651, federal judges have long had authority to suspend the execution of certain sen-fences and to impose probation instead. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that § 3147 “supersede^]” § 3651, leaving federal judges without authority to suspend execution of sentences imposed under § 3147. 794 F. 2d 24, 26 (1986). We reverse.

Petitioner, Gloria Rodriguez, was arrested for selling cocaine. While released on a personal recognizance bond she was arrested again, for selling heroin. She pleaded guilty to both charges. The sentencing judge recognized that § 3147 required that petitioner be sentenced to at least a 2-year term of imprisonment in addition to the sentences for the two drug offenses. Nevertheless, relying on §3651, he suspended execution of that sentence, finding that under the circumstances a 2-year probation term was more appropriate. The United States appealed, arguing that § 3147 had superseded §3651, and that the sentencing judge had no authority to suspend execution of the sentence imposed under §3147. The Court of Appeals agreed with the United States and reversed. 794 F. 2d 24 (CA2 1986). Rodriguez then filed this petition for certiorari.

Since § 3147 does not explicitly divest sentencing judges of their authority under § 3651, the Court of Appeals’ judgment amounts to the conclusion that §3147 is an implicit partial repeal of § 3651. It is well settled, however, that repeals by implication are not favored, see, e. g., TVA v. Hill, 437 U. S. 153, 189 (1978), and will not be found unless an intent to repeal is “‘clear and manifest.’” United States v. Borden Co., 308 U. S. 188, 198 (1939) (quoting Red Rock v. Henry, 106 U. S. 596, 602 (1883)). Nothing in the language of these two provisions suggests the existence of the “‘“irreconcilable conflict,””’ Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp., 456 U. S. 461, 468 (1982) (citations omitted), from which an intent to repeal may be inferred. To the contrary, the provisions fit together quite sensibly. Section 3147 requires that those who commit felonies while on release be sentenced to a term of at least two years; § 3651 authorizes sentencing judges to suspend execution of those sentences if probation would be more appropriate. Section 3147 is no different from many other federal statutes requiring minimum sentences, which have uniformly been held to be subject to the suspension authority of §3651. See, e. g., Andrews v. United States, 373 U. S. 334, 340 (1963) (dictum); United States v. Davis, 560 F. 2d 144, 148, n. 6 (CA3), cert. denied sub nom. Hazzard v. United States, 434 U. S. 839 (1977); United States v. Wilson, 506 F. 2d 521, 522 (CA9 1974) (per curiam); Jones v. United States, 419 F. 2d 593, 597-598 (CA8 1969); United States v. Cameron, 351 F. 2d 448, 449 (CA7 1965); United States v. Hardaway, 350 F. 2d 1021, 1022 (CA6 1965); Smith v. United States, 284 F. 2d 789, 791, n. 2 (CA5 1960); United States v. Donovan, 242 F. 2d 61, 64 (CA2 1957).

The Court of Appeals rested its conclusion in part on the legislative history of the CCCA, noting that various Senate and House Reports referred to § 3147 as establishing a “mandatory” sentence, as prescribing a “term of imprisonment of at least two years and not more than ten,” and as “requiring] that the individual be imprisoned for an additional period of time.” See 794 F. 2d, at 26-29. Even if unrebutted, these passing references would not constitute the “clear and manifest” evidence of congressional intent necessary to establish repeal by implication. In fact, however, the totality of the legislative history of the Act demonstrates with unusual clarity that no repeal was intended. A Senate Report on an early version of the Act pointed out that statutes specifying minimum sentences did not create mandatory minimum terms of confinement, since such sentences could be suspended in favor of probation or parole. S. Rep. No. 98-225, p. 66, n. 129 (1983). The same Report also noted that the reported version of the provision eventually codified at 18 U. S. C. § 924(c) would permit such suspension, and recommended that it be amended to eliminate that possibility. S. Rep., at 312-313. Congress subsequently did amend § 924(c), as well as certain other provisions of the CCCA, to make §3651 unambiguously inapplicable. See 18 U. S. C. §§ 924(c), 929(a) (1982 ed., Supp. Ill); 18 U. S. C. App. § 1202 (a); 21 U. S. C. §845a(c) (1982 ed., Supp. III). “‘[W]here Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion.’” Russello v. United States, 464 U. S. 16, 23 (1983) (quoting United States v. Wong Kim Bo, 472 F. 2d 720, 722 (CA5 1972)). It is, in short, overwhelmingly clear that, in passing the CCCA, Congress acted — as it is presumed to act, see, e. g., Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U. S. 575, 581-582 (1978) — with full awareness of the well-established judicial interpretation that §3651 permits the suspension of sentences “unless [it is] explicitly made inapplicable.” United States v. Donovan, supra, at 64.

Additionally, and most impermissibly, the Court of Appeals relied on its understanding of the broad purposes of the CCCA, which included decreasing the frequency with which persons on pretrial release commit crimes and diminishing the sentencing discretion of judges. But no legislation pursues its purposes at all costs. Deciding what competing values will or will not be sacrificed to the achievement of a particular objective is the very essence of legislative choice— and it frustrates rather than effectuates legislative intent simplistically to assume that whatever furthers the statute’s primary objective must be the law. Where, as here, “the language of a provision ... is sufficiently clear in its context and not at odds with the legislative history, . . . ‘[there is no occasion] to examine the additional considerations of “policy” . . . that may have influenced the lawmakers in their formulation of the statute.’” Aaron v. SEC, 446 U. S. 680, 695 (1980) (quoting Ernst & Ernst v. Hochfelder, 425 U. S. 185, 214, n. 33 (1976)).

Neither the language nor the legislative history of § 3147 provides any basis for concluding that it was intended to effect a partial repeal of § 3651. It is true that the practical effect of the Court of Appeals’ contrary judgment is reduced by the fact that, as subsequently amended, the CCCA provides that § 3147 will be substantially altered and § 3651 will be repealed effective November 1, 1987, see 18 U. S. C. §3147, 18 U. S. C. §3651 (1982 ed., Supp. III). Nevertheless, because that judgment is plainly inconsistent with important doctrines of statutory construction, we grant the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis and the petition for certiorari and reverse.

It is so ordered.

Justice Blackmun also would grant certiorari and reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

Justice Marshall would grant the petition and afford the parties an opportunity to brief the merits of the case. See, e. g., Newport v. Iacobucci, 479 U. S. 92, 97 (1986) (Marshall, J., dissenting from summary disposition).

       Section 3147 provides in relevant part:
      1A person convicted of an offense committed while released [pending judicial proceedings] shall be sentenced, in addition to the sentence prescribed for the offense[,] to—
      “(1) a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than ten years if the offense is a felony ....
      “A term of imprisonment imposed pursuant to this section shall be consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.”

       Section 3651 provides in relevant part:
      “Upon entering a judgment of conviction of any offense not punishable by death or life imprisonment, any court having jurisdiction to try offenses against the United States[,] when satisfied that the ends of justice and the best interest of the public as well as the defendant will be served thereby, may suspend the imposition or execution of sentence and place the defendant on probation for such period and upon such terms and conditions as the court deems best.”


author: Per Curiam. Justice Powell,

text:
    TRUESDALE v. AIKEN, WARDEN, et al.
    No. 86-5530.
    Decided March 23, 1987
   Per Curiam.

The motion of petitioner for leave to proceed informa pau-peris and the petition for a writ of certiorari are granted. The judgment of the Supreme Court of South Carolina is reversed. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U. S. 586 (1978); Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U. S, 1 (1986). See also United States v. Johnson, 457 U. S. 537, 549 (1982).

It is so ordered.

Justice Powell,

with whom The Chief Justice and Justice O’Connor join, dissenting.

Today the Court grants certiorari and summarily reverses a decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court that had refused to apply Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U. S. 1 (1986), retroactively to cases that were final at the time Skipper was decided. I continue to believe that the appropriate test for applying this Court’s criminal law decisions retroactively to federal habeas corpus petitions is the analysis set forth by Justice Harlan in Mackey v. United States, 401 U. S. 667, 681-695 (1971) (opinion concurring in judgment in Mackey and dissenting from judgment in Williams v. United States, 401 U. S. 646 (1971)). See Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U. S. 314, 328-329 (1987) (Powell, J., concurring). In Mackey, Justice Harlan argued that “it is sounder, in adjudicating ha-beas petitions, generally to apply the law prevailing at the time a conviction became final than it is to seek to dispose of all these cases on the basis of intervening changes in constitutional interpretation.” 401 U. S., at 689.

Application of these principles to this case is not simple. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U. S. 586 (1978), and Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U. S. 104 (1982), were decided before petitioner’s conviction became final. Accordingly, under the retroactivity principles adopted in our recent decision in Griffith v. Kentucky, supra, petitioner is entitled to the benefit of those decisions. The Court appears to think that Skipper, supra, merely applied the settled principles of Lockett and Eddings to a new fact situation, and thus that petitioner also is entitled to the benefit of the Court’s decision in Skipper.

I do not agree that petitioner is entitled to the benefit of our decision in Skipper. I continue to think that the result in Skipper was “not required by our decisions in Lockett and Eddings,” Skipper, supra, at 9 (Powell, J., concurring in judgment) (citations omitted). In Lockett and Eddings, the Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits States from excluding, at a capital-sentencing proceeding, relevant evidence that tends to lessen the defendant’s culpability. Lockett v. Ohio, supra, at 604; Eddings v. Oklahoma, supra, at 114. In Skipper, this rule was extended to require admission of evidence that was unrelated to culpability. Rather, the State was required to admit evidence relevant to the defendant’s probable future conduct as a prisoner. Neither the author of the plurality opinion in Lockett nor the author of the Court’s opinion in Eddings agreed with the Court’s decision in Skipper. Although I am of course bound by the Court’s decision on the merits in Skipper, this is not incompatible with my view that Skipper broke new ground. Therefore, I do not believe this petitioner’s conviction was incorrect under the law existing when the conviction became final. The South Carolina court decided this case in accord with the precedents existing at the time of petitioner’s conviction.

I acknowledge that we cannot determine with certainty how the Court would have decided this case at the time petitioner was convicted. Because of the inherent subjectivity of this determination, I do not find summary disposition of this case appropriate. Moreover, there are several questions related to this case that have not been decided by this Court’s decisions. At least in the context of habeas petitions, we have not addressed the standards by which a court should determine the retroactive effect of cases like Skipper that arguably follow from pre-existing precedents. Nor has the Court decided whether the same retroactivity rules should apply to state postconviction proceedings that apply to federal habeas proceedings. A substantial argument could be made that this is a question of state procedural law and that — whatever the federal rule eventually may become— state courts considering such petitions need not consider developments in constitutional law that occur after the conviction became final. Of course, we should not resolve these questions without full briefing and consideration.

If these questions were properly presented, I would vote to grant the petition for a writ of certiorari. As the more important questions are not directly raised, my vote is to deny the petition. It seems to me that summary reversal is wholly inappropriate, and accordingly I dissent.

       Justice Harlan identified two exceptions to this rule: cases that “place . . . certain kinds of primary, private individual conduct beyond the power of the criminal law-making authority,” 401 U. S., at 692, and where there are “claims of nonobservance of those procedures that. . . are ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty,’ ” id., at 693 (quoting Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U. S. 319, 325 (1937)). Neither of these exceptions is applicable to this case.

       The Court supports this conclusion by reference to the statement in United States v. Johnson, 457 U. S. 537 (1982), that “when a decision of this Court merely has applied settled precedents to new and different factual situations, no real question has arisen as to whether the later decision should apply retrospectively, . . . because the later decision has not in fact altered that rule in any material way.” Id., at 549.

       The Court in Skipper explained: “Consideration of a defendant’s past conduct as indicative of his probable future behavior is an inevitable and not undesirable element of criminal sentencing: ‘any sentencing authority must predict a convicted person’s probable future conduct when it engages in the process of determining what punishment to impose.’” Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U. S. 1, 5 (1986) (quoting Jurek v. Texas, 428 U. S. 262, 275 (1976) (joint opinion of Stewart, Powell, and Stevens, JJ.)). The “past conduct” to which the Skipper Court referred was Skipper’s good behavior after his conviction and death sentence.

      I am not the first to note the difficulty of making these determinations. See Desist v. United States, 394 U. S. 244, 263-269 (1969) (Harlan, J., dissenting); Mackey v. United States, 401 U. S. 667, 695 (1971) (opinion of Harlan, J., concurring in judgment in Mackey and dissenting from judgment in Williams v. United States, 401 U. S. 646 (1971)).


author: Justice White Justice Stevens,

text:
    AMOCO PRODUCTION CO. et al. v. VILLAGE OF GAMBELL et al.
    No. 85-1239.
    Argued January 12, 1987
    Decided March 24, 1987

      White, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, and O’Connor, JJ., joined, and in Parts I and III of which Stevens and Scalia, JJ., joined. Stevens, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Scalia, J., joined, post, p. 555.

      Assistant Attorney General Habicht argued the cause for petitioners in No. 85-1406. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Fried, Deputy Solicitor General Wallace, Richard J. Lazarus, Anne S. Almy, Jacques B. Gelin, David C. Shilton, and Ralph W. Tarr. E. Edward Bruce argued the cause for petitioners in No. 85-1239. With him on the briefs were Brice M. Clagett, Bobby R. Burchfield, and Carl J. D. Bauman.

      Donald S. Cooper argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief was Carol H. Daniel.

      Together with No. 85-1406, Hodel, Secretary of the Interior, et al. v. Village of Gambell et al., also on certiorari to the same court.

        Alvin J. Ziontz filed a brief for North Slope Borough et al. as amici curiae urging reversal.
      Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the State of Alaska by Harold M. Brawn, Attorney General, and Deborah Vogt, Assistant Attorney General; for the State of California ex reí. Van de Kamp et al. by John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General of California, Theodora Berger, Assistant Attorney General, Ken Alex, Deputy Attorney General, Fred Silverman, Solicitor of Delaware, Jim Smith, Attorney General of Florida, Corinne K. A. Watanabe, Attorney General of Hawaii, Robert T.

        Stephan, Attorney General of Kansas, Paul Bardacke, Attorney General of New Mexico, Michael C. Turpén, Attorney General of Oklahoma, T. Travis Medlock, Attorney General of South Carolina, Jim Mattox, Attorney General of Texas, Mary Sue Terry, Attorney General of Virginia, and Bronson C. La Follette, Attorney General of Wisconsin; and for the Natural Resources Defense Council et al. by Larry Silver and Michael Axline.

        Ronald A. Zumbrun and Robin L. Rivett filed a brief for the Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc., et al. as amici curiae.

   Justice White

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Petitioner Secretary of the Interior granted oil and gas leases to petitioner oil companies in the Norton Sound (Lease Sale 57) and Navarin Basin (Lease Sale 83) areas of the Bering Sea under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 67 Stat. 462, as amended, 43 U. S. C. § 1331 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. III). The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit directed the entry of a preliminary injunction against all activity in connection with the leases because it concluded that it was likely that the Secretary had failed to comply with § 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 94 Stat. 2371, 16 U. S. C. §3120, prior to issuing the leases. We granted certiorari, 476 U. S. 1157, and we now reverse.

I — I

When the Secretary of the Interior proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Sale 57, the Alaska Native villages of Gambell and Stebbins sought to enjoin him from proceeding with the sale, claiming that it would adversely affect their aboriginal rights to hunt and fish on the OCS and that the Secretary had failed to comply with ANILCA § 810(a), 16 U. S. C. § 3120(a), which provides protection for natural resources used for subsistence in Alaska. The District Court denied their motion for a preliminary injunction and thereafter granted summary judgment in favor of the Secretary and oil company intervenors, holding that the villagers had no aboriginal rights on the OCS and that ANILCA did not apply to the OCS.

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s ruling on aboriginal rights, although on different grounds, and reversed the ruling on the scope of ANILCA §810. People of Gambell v. Clark, 746 F. 2d 572 (1984) (Gambell I). With respect to the claim of aboriginal rights, the court assumed without deciding that the villagers once had aboriginal rights to hunt and fish in the Norton Sound, but concluded that these rights had been extinguished by § 4(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), 85 Stat. 690, 48 U. S. C. § 1603(b). That section provides:

“All aboriginal titles, if any, and claims of aboriginal title in Alaska based on use and occupancy, including submerged land underneath all water areas, both inland and offshore, and including any aboriginal hunting or fishing rights that may exist, are hereby extinguished.” (Emphasis added.)

The Court of Appeals construed the phrase “in Alaska” to mean “the geographic region, including the contiguous continental shelf and the waters above it, and not merely the area within the strict legal boundaries of the State of Alaska.” 746 F. 2d, at 675. Finding the phrase ambiguous, the court examined the legislative history and concluded that Congress wrote the extinguishment provision broadly “to accomplish a complete and final settlement of aboriginal claims and avoid further litigation of such claims.” Ibid. The court then concluded that ANILCA § 810 had the same geographical scope as ANCSA § 4(b):

“[The villages] make a compelling argument that the provisions of Title VIII of [ANILCA] protecting subsistence uses were intended to have the same territorial scope as provisions of the earlier Claims Settlement Act extinguishing Native hunting and fishing rights. The two statutory provisions are clearly related. When Congress adopted the Claims Settlement Act it was aware that extinguishing Native rights might threaten subsistence hunting and fishing by Alaska Natives. . . . It is a reasonable assumption that Congress intended the preference and procedural protections for subsistence uses mandated by Title VIII of [ANILCA] to be coextensive with the extinguishment of aboriginal rights that made those measures necessary.” 746 F. 2d, at 579-580.

The court found support for this view in ANILCA’s legislative history. But, according to the Court of Appeals, “[t]he most compelling reason for resolving the ambiguous language of Title VIII in favor of coverage of outer continental shelf lands and waters is that Title VIII was adopted to benefit the Natives.” Id., at 581. The court acknowledged the familiar rule of statutory construction that doubtful expressions must be resolved in favor of Indians. See Alaska Pacific Fisheries v. United States, 248 U. S. 78, 89 (1918). It then remanded to the District Court the questions whether the Secretary had substantially complied with ANILCA § 810 in the course of complying with other environmental statutes, and if not, whether the leases should be voided.

In compliance with the Court of Appeals’ decision, the Secretary prepared a postsale evaluation of possible impacts on subsistence uses from Lease Sale 57. The Secretary found that the execution of the leases, which permitted lessees to conduct only limited preliminary activities on the OCS, had not and would not significantly restrict subsistence uses. He further found that the exploration stage activities, including seismic activities and exploratory drilling, that had occurred in Norton Sound had not significantly restricted subsistence uses and were not likely to do so in the future. Finally, he found that, if development and production activities were ever conducted, which was not likely, they might, in the event of a major oilspill, significantly restrict subsistence uses for limited periods in limited areas.

In April 1985, the villages sought a preliminary injunction in the District Court against exploratory activities in Norton Sound. At the same time, the village of Gambell, joined by Nunam Kitlutsisti, an organization of Yukon Delta Natives, filed a complaint seeking to void Lease Sale 83 and to enjoin imminent exploratory drilling in the Navarin Basin. The District Court consolidated the motions for preliminary injunctions and denied them. It found that respondents had established a strong likelihood of success on the merits. Although the Secretary, in the EIS’s for the Five Year Leasing Plan and for the Norton Sound and Navarin Basin Lease Sales, had evaluated in some detail the effect of OCS oil and gas development on subsistence resources and had considered alternatives which would reduce or eliminate the impact on these resources, the Secretary failed to comply with ANILCA because “he did not have the policy precepts of ANILCA in mind at the time of evaluation.” App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 85-1239, pp. 57a-58a. And with respect to the postsale evaluation for Lease Sale 57, the District Court concluded that because development and production activities, if they ever occurred, could significantly restrict subsistence uses in certain areas, the Secretary was required to conduct the hearing and make the findings required by §§ 810(a)(1) — (8) prior to conducting the lease sale. Nevertheless, the court concluded that injunctive relief was not appropriate based on the following findings:

“(1) That delay in the exploration of the OCS may cause irreparable harm to this nation’s quest for new oil resources and energy independence. Expedited exploration as a policy is stated in OCSLA. See 43 U. S. C. § 1332(3);
“(2) That exploration will not significantly restrict subsistence resources; and
“(3) That the Secretary continues to possess power to control and shape the off-shore leasing process. Therefore, if the ANILCA subsistence studies require alteration of the leasing conditions or configuration the Secretary will be able to remedy any harm caused by the violation.” Id., at 62a-63a.

Accordingly, applying the traditional test for a preliminary injunction, the court concluded that the balance of irreparable harm did not favor the movants; in addition, the public interest favored continued oil exploration and such exploration in this case would not cause the type of harm that ANILCA was designed to prevent.

Respondents appealed from the District Court’s denial of a preliminary injunction. The Ninth Circuit reversed. People of Gambell v. Hodel, 774 F. 2d 1414 (1985) (Gambell II). The court, agreeing that the villages had established a strong likelihood of success on the merits, concluded that the District Court had not properly balanced irreparable harm and had not properly evaluated the public interest. Relying on its earlier decision in Save Our Ecosystems v. Clark, 747 F. 2d 1240, 1250 (1984), the court stated: “‘Irreparable damage is presumed when an agency fails to evaluate thoroughly the environmental impact of a proposed action.’” 774 F. 2d, at 1423. It ruled that “injunctive relief is the appropriate remedy for a violation of an environmental statute absent rare or unusual circumstances.” Ibid. “Unusual circumstances” are those in which an injunction would interfere with a long-term contractual relationship, Forelaws on Board v. Johnson, 743 F. 2d 677 (CA9 1984), or would result in irreparable harm to the environment, American Motorcyclist Assn. v. Watt, 714 F. 2d 962, 966 (CA9 1983). 774 F. 2d, at 1423-1425. The court found no such circumstances in the instant case. The Ninth Circuit also concluded that the policy declared in OCSLA to expedite exploration of the OCS had been superseded by ANILCA’s policy to preserve the subsistence culture of Alaska Natives. Finally, the court rejected arguments that it was improper to apply Gambell I retroactively to Lease Sale 83.

I — I HH

Petitioners assert that the Ninth Circuit erred in directing the grant of a preliminary injunction. We addressed a similar contention in Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U. S. 305 (1982). The District Court in that case found that the Navy had violated the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U. S. C. § 1251 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), by discharging ordnance into the sea without a permit. 456 U. S., at 307-308. The court ordered the Navy to apply for a permit but refused to enjoin weapons-training operations during the application process because the Navy’s “technical violations” were not causing any “appreciable harm” to the quality of the water and an injunction would cause grievous harm to the Navy’s military preparedness and therefore to the Nation. Id., at 309-310. The First Circuit reversed and directed the District Court to enjoin all Navy activities until it obtained a permit, concluding that the traditional equitable balancing of competing interests was inappropriate where there was an absolute statutory duty to obtain a permit. Id., at 310-311. We reversed, acknowledging at the outset the fundamental principle that an injunction is an equitable remedy that does not issue as of course. Id., at 311. We reviewed the well-established principles governing the award of equitable relief in federal courts. Id., at 311-313. In brief, the bases for injunctive relief are irreparable injury and inadequacy of legal remedies. In each case, a court must balance the competing claims of injury and must consider the effect on each party of the granting or withholding of the requested relief. Although particular regard should be given to the public interest, “[t]he grant of jurisdiction to ensure compliance with a statute hardly suggests an absolute duty to do so under any and all circumstances, and a federal judge sitting as chancellor is not mechanically obligated to grant an injunction for every violation of law.” Id., at 313. Finally, we stated:

“Of course, Congress may intervene and guide or control the exercise of the courts’ discretion, but we do not lightly assume that Congress has intended to depart from established principles. . . . ‘Unless a statute in so many words, or by a necessary and inescapable inference, restricts the court’s jurisdiction in equity, the full scope of that jurisdiction is to be recognized and applied.’” Ibid, (quoting Porter v. Warner Holding Co., 328 U. S. 395, 398 (1946)).

Applying these principles, we concluded that the purpose of the FWPCA — to restore and maintain the integrity of the Nation’s waters — would not be undermined by allowing the statutory violation to continue during the permit application process because the ordnance was not polluting the water. 456 U. S., at 314-315. The First Circuit had erroneously-focused on the integrity of the permit process rather than on the integrity of the Nation’s waters. Moreover, the permit process was not completely circumvented since the District Court ordered the Navy to apply for a permit. An injunction against all discharges was not the only means of ensuring compliance with the Act and we found nothing in the Act’s language and structure or legislative history which suggested that Congress intended to deny courts their traditional equitable discretion.

We see nothing which distinguishes Romero-Barcelo from the instant case. The purpose of ANILCA § 810 is to protect Alaskan subsistence resources from unnecessary destruction. Section 810 does not prohibit all federal land use actions which would adversely affect subsistence resources but sets forth a procedure through which such effects must be considered and provides that actions which would significantly restrict subsistence uses can only be undertaken if they are necessary and if the adverse effects are minimized. There is no clear indication in § 810 that Congress intended to deny federal district courts their traditional equitable discretion in enforcing the provision, nor are we compelled to infer such a limitation. Like the First Circuit in Romero-Barcelo, the Ninth Circuit erroneously focused on the statutory procedure rather than on the underlying substantive policy the process was designed to effect — preservation of subsistence resources. The District Court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction against all exploration activities did not undermine this policy. The District Court, after reviewing the EIS’s for the Secretary’s Five Year Leasing Plan and for Lease Sales 57 and 83, as well as the § 810 study prepared after Gambell I, expressly found that exploration activities would not significantly restrict subsistence uses. The Court of Appeals did not conclude that this factual finding was clearly erroneous. The District Court also found that “the Secretary continues to possess power to control and shape the off-shore leasing process,” App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 85-1239, p. 63a, referring to the four distinct stages under OCSLA, particularly the requirement for secretarial approval of a development and production plan, 43 U. S. C. § 1351. See n. 6, supra. The Court of Appeals did not dispute that the Secretary could meaningfully comply with ANILCA § 810 in conjunction with his review of production and development plans. Instead, the court stated that “[i]rreparable damage is presumed, when an agency fails to evaluate thoroughly the environmental impact of a proposed action.” 774 F. 2d, at 1423 (emphasis added). This presumption is contrary to traditional equitable principles and has no basis in ANILCA. Moreover, the environment can be fully protected without this presumption. Environmental injury, by its nature, can seldom be adequately remedied by money damages and is often permanent or at least of long duration, i. e., irreparable. If such injury is sufficiently likely, therefore, the balance of harms will usually favor the issuance of an injunction to protect the environment. Here, however, injury to subsistence resources from exploration was not at all probable. And on the other side of the balance of harms was the fact that the oil company petitioners had committed approximately $70 million to exploration to be conducted during the summer of 1985 which they would have lost without chance of recovery had exploration been enjoined. Id., at 1430.

We acknowledged in Romero-Barcelo the important role of the “public interest” in the exercise of equitable discretion. The District Court concluded that the public interest in this case favored continued oil exploration, given OCSLA’s stated policy and the fact that “such exploration will not cause the type of harm, 'a restriction in subsistence uses or resources, that ANILCA was designed to prevent.” App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 85-1239, p. 63a. The Court of Appeals concluded, however, that the public interest favored injunctive relief because the interests served by federal environmental statutes, such as ANILCA, supersede all other interests that might be at stake. We do not read ANILCA to have repealed OCSLA. Congress clearly did not state in ANILCA that subsistence uses are always more important than development of energy resources, or other uses of federal lands; rather, it expressly declared that preservation of subsistence resources is a public interest and established a framework for reconciliation, where possible, of competing public interests.

Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit erred in directing the issuance of a preliminary injunction.

I — I H-I 1 — l

Petitioners also contend that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that ANILCA § 810 applies to the OCS. We agree. By its plain language, that provision imposes obligations on federal agencies with respect to decisions affecting use of federal lands within the boundaries of the State of Alaska. Section 810 applies to “public lands.” Section 102 of ANILCA, 16 U. S. C. §3102, defines “public lands,” and included terms, for purposes of the Act as follows:

“(1) The term ‘land’ means lands, waters, and interests therein.
“(2) The term ‘Federal land’ means lands the title to which is in the United States after December 2, 1980.
“(3) The term ‘public lands’ means land situated in Alaska which, after December 2, 1980, are Federal lands, except [land selected by the State of Alaska or granted to the State under the Alaska Statehood Act, 72 Stat. 339, or any other provision of federal law, land selected by a Native Corporation under ANCSA, and lands referred to in ANCSA § 19(b), 43 U. S. C. § 1618(b)].” (Emphasis added.)

The phrase “in Alaska” has a precise geographic/political meaning. The boundaries of the State of Alaska can be delineated with exactitude. The State of Alaska was “admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States,” and its boundaries were defined as “all the territory, together with the territorial waters appurtenant thereto, now included in the Territory of Alaska.” Alaska Statehood Act (Statehood Act) §§ 1, 2, 72 Stat. 339. The Submerged Lands Act of 1953, 67 Stat. 29, as amended, 43 U. S. C. § 1301 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), was made applicable to the State. Statehood Act § 6(m), 72 Stat. 343. Under § 4 of the Submerged Lands Act, 43 U. S. C. § 1312, the seaward boundary of a coastal State extends to a line three miles from its coastline. At that line, the OCS commences. OCSLA § 2(a), 43 U. S. C. § 1331(a). By definition, the OCS is not situated in the State of Alaska. Nevertheless, the Ninth Circuit concluded that “in Alaska” should be construed in a general, “nontechnical” sense to mean the geographic region of Alaska, including the Outer Continental Shelf. 746 F. 2d, at 579. We reject the notion that Congress was merely waving its hand in the general direction of northwest North America when it defined the scope of ANILCA as “Federal lands” “situated in Alaska.” Although language seldom attains the precision of a mathematical symbol, where an expression is capable of precise definition, we will give effect to that meaning absent strong evidence that Congress actually intended another meaning. “[DJeference to the supremacy of the Legislature, as well as recognition that Congressmen typically vote on the language of a bill, generally requires us to assume that ‘the legislative purpose is expressed by the ordinary meaning of the words used/” United States v. Locke, 471 U. S. 84, 95 (1985) (quoting Richards v. United States, 369 U. S. 1, 9 (1962)). This is not that “exceptional case” where acceptance of the plain meaning of a word would “thwart the obvious purpose of the statute.” Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U. S. 564, 571 (1982) (internal quotations omitted).

Nothing in the language or structure of ANILCA compels the conclusion that “in Alaska” means something other than “in the State of Alaska.” The subsistence-protection provisions of the statute must be viewed in the context of the Act as a whole. ANILCA’s primary purpose was to complete the allocation of federal lands in the State of Alaska, a process begun with the Statehood Act in 1958 and continued in 1971 in ANCSA. To this end, it provided for additions to the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Forest System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and National Wilderness Preservation System, and also provided for the establishment of a National Conservation Area and National Recreation Area, within the State of Alaska. Titles II-VII, 94 Stat. 2377-2422. The Act also provided means to facilitate and expedite the conveyance of federal lands within the State to the State of Alaska under the Statehood Act and to Alaska Natives under ANCSA. Titles IX and XIV, 94 Stat. 2430-2448, 2491-2549. The remaining federal lands within the State were left available for resource development and disposition under the public land laws. The other provisions of ANILCA have no express applicability to the OCS and need not be extended beyond the State of Alaska in order to effectuate their apparent purposes. It is difficult to believe that Congress intended the subsistence protection provisions of Title VIII, alone among all the provisions in the Act, to apply to the OCS. It is particularly implausible because the same definition of “public lands” which defines the scope of Title VIII applies as well to the rest of the statute (with the exceptions noted at n. 13, supra).

There is a lone reference to the OCS in the statute, in § 1001(a), 16 U. S. C. § 3141(a), and it is for the purpose of ensuring that the provision does not apply to the OCS. Section 1001 provides for a study of oil and gas resources, wilderness characteristics, and wildlife resources of the “North Slope”:

“(a) The Secretary shall initiate and carry out a study of all Federal lands (other than submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf) in Alaska north of 68 degrees north latitude and east of the western boundary of the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska, other than lands included in the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska and in conservation system units established by this Act.”

The Secretary suggests that Congress included the parenthetical excluding the OCS out of an abundance of caution because “North Slope” is defined in a related statute — the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act of 1976, 15 U. S. C. §719 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill) — to include the OCS. See 15 U. S. C. § 719b. Whatever the reason for caution, it is apparent from ANILCA § 1008(a), 16 U. S. C. § 3148(a), that Congress did not intend “Federal lands in Alaska” to include the OCS despite the parenthetical in § 1001(a). Section 1008(a) requires the Secretary to “establish, pursuant to the Mineral [Lands] Leasing Act of 1920, as amended [30 U. S. C. § 181 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill)], an oil and gas leasing program on the Federal lands of Alaska not subject to the study required by section 1001 of this Act, other than lands included in the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska.” (Emphasis added.) Congress clearly did not intend this program to extend to the OCS; OCSLA, rather than the Mineral Lands Leasing Act, governs mineral leasing on the OCS. See 43 U. S. C. § 1338(a)(1).

Title VIII itself suggests that it does not apply to the OCS. Section 810 places the duty to perform a subsistence evaluation on “the head of the Federal agency having primary jurisdiction over such lands.” Unlike onshore lands, no federal agency has “primary jurisdiction” over the OCS; agency jurisdiction turns on the particular activity at issue. See G. Coggins & C. Wilkinson, Federal Public Land and Resources Law 434 (1981).

The similarity between the language of ANILCA and its predecessor statutes, the Statehood Act and ANCSA, also refutes the contention that Congress intended “Alaska” to include the OCS. In the Statehood Act, Congress provided that the State of Alaska could select over 100 million acres from the vacant and unreserved “public lands of the United States in Alaska” within 25 years of its admission. Statehood Act §6(b), 72 Stat. 340. Similarly, in ANCSA, Congress allowed Native Alaskans to select approximately 40 million acres of “Federal lands and interests therein located in Alaska,” with the exception of federal installations and land selections of the State of Alaska under the Statehood Act. 43 U. S. C. §§ 1602(e), 1610(a), 1611. We agree with the Secretary that “[i]t is inconceivable that Congress intended to allow either the State of Alaska or Native Alaskans to select portions of the OCS — ‘a vital national resource reserve held by the [government] for the public’ (43 U. S. C. 1332(3)).” Brief for Petitioners in No. 85-1406, p. 33. Clearly, the purpose of these provisions was to apportion the land within the boundaries of the State of Alaska. The nearly identical language in ANILCA strongly suggests a similar scope for that statute.

When statutory language is plain, and nothing in the Act’s structure or relationship to other statutes calls into question this plain meaning, that is ordinarily “the end of the matter.” Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837, 842 (1984). “Going behind the plain language of a statute in search of a possibly contrary congressional intent is a step to be taken cautiously even under the best of circumstances.” United States v. Locke, 471 U. S., at 95-96 (internal quotations omitted). ANILCA’s legislative history does not evidence a congressional intent contrary to our reading of the statutory language. Significantly, the legislative history nowhere expressly indicates that the subsistence provisions apply to the OCS. The Ninth Circuit relied on a number of remarks made during the floor debates which were not specifically addressed to the scope of ANILCA in general or the subsistence provisions in particular. 746 F. 2d, at 579. The central issue of the floor debates was the appropriate balance between exploitation of natural resources, particularly energy resources, and dedication of land to conservation units. A number of Congressmen addressed the amount of oil expected to be recovered from the OCS offshore of Alaska in the context of this balancing and, in doing so, referred to “Alaska” in a manner which included the OCS. Representative Udall, Chairman of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and floor manager of the bill, for example, sought to assure Members that the bill he favored did not inordinately restrict energy development:

“The experts tell us that most of the oil and gas is not going to be from onshore. . . . Offshore in Alaska there are 203 million acres of sedimentary basin. Let me tell the Members how much of that is put out of production by this bill so that they cannot get it. The answer is zero. Every single acre of offshore oil sedimentary basin potential in Alaska is going to be open for oil drilling and prospecting. The State owns some of it beneath the high water mark, and the Federal Government owns the rest.
“Under other legislation those submerged lands are open, are going to be explored and developed, and that should be 203 million acres.” 125 Cong. Rec. 9900 (1979) (emphasis added); see also id., at 11128.

This casual use of the phrase “in Alaska” in a floor debate does not carry the same weight that it does in the definitional section of the statute. Spoken language is ordinarily less precise than written language; Representative Udall could easily have intended to say “offshore of Alaska.” Indeed, the obvious thrust of his statement was that ANILCA does not apply to the OCS; rather, OCSLA governs offshore oil development. Numerous statements by other legislators reveal a common understanding — consistent with the plain meaning of the statutory language — that ANILCA simply “has nothing to do with the Outer Continental Shelf,” id., at 11170 (remarks of Rep. Emery).

Finally, we reject the Ninth Circuit’s reliance on the familiar rule of statutory construction that doubtful expressions must be resolved in favor of Indians. 746 F. 2d, at 681. There is no ambiguity here which requires interpretation. “The canon of construction regarding the resolution of ambiguities . . . does not permit reliance on ambiguities that do not exist; nor does it permit disregard of the clearly expressed intent of Congress.” South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, 476 U. S. 498, 506 (1986).

The judgment of the Ninth Circuit with respect to the entry of a preliminary injunction and the applicability of ANILCA §810 to the OCS is reversed. We do not decide here the scope of ANCSA § 4(b). Respondents’ cross-petition on this issue, No. 86-1608, is granted, the Court of Appeals’ judgment that § 4(b) extinguished aboriginal rights on the OCS is vacated, and this question is remanded to the Court of Appeals for decision in light of this opinion.

It is so ordered.

Justice Stevens,

with whom Justice Scalia joins, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.

Given the Court’s holding that § 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), 94 Stat. 2371, 16 U. S. C. § 3120, does not apply to the Outer Continental Shelf, it is unnecessary to decide whether the Court of Appeals applied the proper standard in determining the availability of injunctive relief. Accordingly, I join only Parts I and III of the Court’s opinion.

       The oil company lessees and the Secretary of the Interior separately petitioned for certiorari, Nos. 85-1239 and 85-1406 respectively, presenting the same four questions: (1) whether the Ninth Circuit’s rule that a district court must enter a preliminary injunction whenever it finds a likely violation of an environmental statute, absent extraordinary circumstances, conflicts with Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U. S. 305 (1982); (2) whether ANILCA § 810 applies to the Outer Continental Shelf; (3) whether the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that the Secretary of the Interior must fully comply with § 810’s requirements prior to leasing and exploration, when a significant restriction of subsistence uses is not expected until the development and production stage, conflicts with Secretary of Interior v. California, 464 U. S. 312 (1984); and (4) whether the Ninth Circuit’s decision applying ANILCA to the OCS should be given retroactive effect. Our answer to the second question disposes of the third and fourth questions. Respondent Alaska Natives cross-petitioned, No. 85-1608, from the Court of Appeals’ ruling that the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U. S. C. § 1601 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), extinguished their aboriginal rights on the OCS. The cross-petition has been held pending our disposition in Nos. 85-1239 and 85-1406.

       Section 810(a), 16 U. S. C. § 3120(a), provides:
      “In determining whether to withdraw, reserve, lease, or otherwise permit the use, occupancy, or disposition of public lands under any provision of law authorizing such actions, the head of the Federal agency having primary jurisdiction over such lands or his designee shall evaluate the effect of such use, occupancy, or disposition on subsistence uses and needs, the availability of other lands for the purposes sought to be achieved, and other alternatives which would reduce or eliminate the use, occupancy, or disposition of public lands needed for subsistence purposes. No such withdrawal, reservation, lease, permit, or other use, occupancy or disposition of such lands which would significantly restrict subsistence uses shall be effected until the head of such Federal agency—
      “(1) gives notice to the appropriate State agency and the appropriate local committees and regional councils established pursuant to section 3115 of this title;
      “(2) gives notice of, and holds, a hearing in the vicinity of the area involved; and
      “(3) determines that (A) such a significant restriction of subsistence uses is necessary, consistent with sound management principles for the utilization of the public lands, (B) the proposed activity will involve the minimal amount of public lands necessary to accomplish the purposes of such use, occupancy or other disposition, and (C) reasonable steps will be taken to minimize adverse impacts upon subsistence uses and resources resulting from such actions.”

       The villages appealed and moved to enjoin the issuance of the leases pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit denied the motion and on May 10, 1983, 59 tracts were leased for bonus payments totaling over $300 million. While the appeal was pending, the Secretary approved exploration plans submitted by the lessees under 43 U. S. C. § 1340 (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill) and they proceeded with exploration during the summer of 1984. The Secretary also proceeded with Lease Sale 83 on April 17, 1984, which resulted in the leasing of 163 tracts for total bonus payments of over $500 million.

       As explained by the Ninth Circuit, “[ajboriginal title or right is a right of exclusive use and occupancy held by Natives in lands and waters used by them and their ancestors prior to the assertion of sovereignty over such areas by the United States.” 746 F. 2d, at 574. See Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida, 414 U. S. 661, 667-669 (1974); see also F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 486-493 (1982).

       The Coastal Zone Management Act, 16 U. S. C. § 1451 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, 16 U. S. C. § 1431 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U. S. C. § 1361 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U. S. C. § 1801 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), Endangered Species Act, 16 U. S. C. § 1531 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), and National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U. S. C. §4331 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), all apply to activities on the OCS. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Interior drafted in 1982 a 332-page Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on proposed Lease Sale 57. Interior analyzed in the EIS the effects that the lease sale, and subsequent exploration, development, and production, could conceivably have on “subsistence uses,” as defined by ANILCA §803, 16 U. S. C. §3113. The EIS documented the fish and shellfish, sea mammal, bird, and land animal resources utilized by the villages in the region, including Gambell and Stebbins, and analyzed the sensitivity of these resources to oilspills, other exploration and development impacts, and harvest pressure. EIS 47-53, 136-148. The EIS also considered the sociocultural impact of changes in the availability of subsistence resources. Interior concluded as follows:
      “While some changes in local subsistence use and take may occur with this proposal, the probability of significant disturbance, in the form of long-term reduction of subsistence take, large-scale disruption of subsistence harvesting activities, or significant reductions in primary resources utilized for subsistence is unlikely for the region as a whole. For Savoonga, and to a lesser extent other ‘big sea mammal hunting’ villages (Diomede, Gambell, King Island, Wales) due to a relatively greater vulnerability to oilspill events, the short-term disturbance is more likely, particularly during the peak development period.” EIS 142.
      A comparable EIS was drafted in 1983 for Lease Sale 83. The Secretary had also previously prepared an EIS in conjunction with his Five Year Leasing Plan.

       As we explained in Secretary of Interior v. California, 464 U. S., at 337, there are four distinct statutory stages to developing an oil well on the OCS: “(1) formulation of a 5-year leasing plan by the Department of the Interior; (2) lease sales; (3) exploration by the lessees; (4) development and production. Each stage involves separate regulatory review that may, but need not, conclude in the transfer to lease purchasers of rights to conduct additional activities on the OCS.” The Secretary examined the effects on subsistence uses of Lease Sale 57 itself, present and future exploratory activities, and development and production activities, which the Secretary estimated had a 13% probability of being undertaken. App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 85-1406, pp. 81a-106a. The Secretary stressed that a definite evaluation with respect to the latter stage could only be made if and when plans for development and production were submitted and that a separate § 810 evaluation would be prepared at that time. The Secretary relied to a considerable degree on the 1982 Final EIS.

       The Secretary approved exploration plans for the Navarin Basin after the decision in Gambell I and accordingly made explicit ANILCA evaluations. See App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 85-1406, pp. 107a-115a. The lessees planned exploration activities for the summer of 1985.

       We noted that, in addition to a court order to apply for a permit, the FWPCA could be enforced through fines and criminal penalties, 33 U. S. C. §§ 1319(c) and (d). 456 U. S., at 314. The Ninth Circuit believed that the absence of such enforcement provisions in ANILCA distinguished the FWPCA and Romero-Barcelo. 774 F. 2d, at 1426, n. 2. It stated that the injunctive relief it granted was the only means of insuring compliance under § 810. The Court of Appeals was incorrect. Here, as in Romero-Barcelo, compliance could be obtained through the simple means of an order to the responsible federal official to comply. The Secretary had not complied with § 810 only because he interpreted ANILCA not to apply to the OCS.

       We distinguished TV A v. Hill, 437 U. S. 153 (1978), in which we had held that Congress, in the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 87 Stat. 884, as amended, 16 U. S. C. § 1531 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. Ill), had foreclosed the traditional discretion possessed by an equity court and had required the District Court to enjoin completion of the Tellieo Dam in order to preserve the snail darter, an endangered species. That statute contains a flat ban on destruction of critical habitats of endangered species and it was conceded that completion of the dam would destroy the critical habitat of the snail darter. We stated:
      “Refusal to enjoin the action would have ignored the ‘explicit provisions of the Endangered Species Act.’ 437 U. S., at 173. Congress, it appeared to us, had chosen the snail darter over the dam. The purpose and language of the statute [not the bare fact of a statutory violation] limited the remedies available to the District Court; only an injunction could vindicate the objectives of the Act.” 456 U. S., at 314.
      The Ninth Circuit erroneously relied on TVA v. Hill. 774 F. 2d, at 1426, n. 2. It is clear that this case is similarly distinguishable from Hill.

       Implicit in this finding was the finding that the lease-sale stage had not significantly restricted subsistence uses.

       OCSLA declares it to be the policy of the United States that “the outer Continental Shelf is a vital national resource reserve held by the Federal Government for the public, which should be made available for expeditious and orderly development, subject to environmental safeguards, in a manner which is consistent with the maintenance of competition and other national needs.” 43 U. S. C. § 1332(3).

      Finally, the Ninth Circuit distinguished Romero-Barcelo on the ground that the District Court in that case refused to issue a permanent injunction after a trial on the merits whereas in this case the District Court denied preliminary injunctive relief. We fail to grasp the significance of this distinction. The standard for a preliminary injunction is essentially the same as for a permanent injunction with the exception that the plaintiff must show a likelihood of success on the merits rather than actual success. See, e. g. University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U. S. 390, 392 (1981). Despite the preliminary nature of the proceeding, the record before the District Court was complete enough to allow it to decide that exploration activities would not significantly restrict subsistence resources. The fact that, on another record, such a conclusion could not be made with any degree of confidence is a factor to be considered under the traditional equitable balancing of interests but hardly suggests that the balancing test itself must be abandoned.

       Section 102 provides that the definitions apply to the entire Act, except that in Title IX, which provides for implementation of ANCSA and the Alaska Statehood Act, 72 Stat. 339, and in Title XIV, which amends ANCSA and related provisions, the terms shall have the same meaning as they have in ANCSA and the Alaska Statehood Act.

      The Ninth Circuit stated: “In strikingly similar circumstances, the Supreme Court has twice given an expansive and non-technieal interpretation to geographical terms to achieve Congress’s apparent purpose to protect native fisheries. Hynes v. Grimes Packing Co., 337 U. S. 86, 110-116 . . . (1949); Alaska Pacific Fisheries v. United States, 248 U. S. 78, 89 . . . (1918).” 746 F. 2d, at 580. The question in Alaska Pacific Fisheries was the geographic scope of “the body of lands known as Annette Islands,” the reservation of the Metlakahtla Indians, in particular: whether the reservation embraced only the uplands or included the intervening and surrounding waters. Similarly, the issue in Hynes was whether the phrase “any other public lands which are actually occupied by Indians or Eskimos within said Territory” authorized the Secretary of the Interior to include in the Karluk Reservation the waters to a distance of 3,000 feet from the shore. 337 U. S., at 91, 92. In both cases, we concluded that, in light of the purposes of the reservations, the phrases were properly interpreted to include a band of adjacent waters. These cases clearly are inap-posite. Unlike “Alaska,” the phrases in issue did not have precise geographic/political meanings which would have been commonly understood, without further inquiry, to exclude the waters. There is no plain meaning to “the body of lands” of an island group, 248 U. S., at 89, and clearly none to “public lands which are actually occupied by Indians or Eskimos.” The meaning of the phrases had to be derived from their context in the statutes.

       Petitioners also assert that the OCS plainly is not “Federal land” because the United States does not claim “title” to the OCS. See ANILCA § 102(2), 16 U. S. C. § 3102(2). The United States may not hold “title” to the submerged lands of the OCS, but we hesitate to conclude that the United States does not have “title” to any “interests therein.” Certainly, it is not clear that Congress intended to exclude the OCS by defining public lands as “lands, waters, and interests therein” “the title to which is in the United States.” We also reject the assertion that the phrase “public lands,” in and of itself, has a precise meaning, without reference to a definitional section or its context in a statute. See Hynes v. Grimes Packing Co., 337 U. S., at 114-116.

       ANILCA is comprised of 15 titles and spans 181 pages of the Statutes at Large, 94 Stat. 2371-2551. The subsistence protection provisions are contained in Title VIII. 94 Stat. 2422-2430, 16 U. S. C. §§ 3111-3126.

       Congress clearly articulated this purpose:
      “(a) In order to preserve for the benefit, use, education, and inspiration of present and future generations certain lands and waters in the State of Alaska that contain nationally significant natural, s.eenic, historic, archeological, geological, scientific, wilderness, cultural, recreational, and wildlife values, the units described in the following titles are hereby established.
      “(d) This Act provides sufficient protection for the national interest in the scenic, natural, cultural and environmental values on the public lands in Alaska, and at the same time provides adequate opportunity for satisfaction of the economic and social needs of the State of Alaska and its people; accordingly, the designation and disposition of the public lands in Alaska pursuant to this Act are found to represent a proper balance between the reservation of national conservation system units and those public lands necessary and appropriate for more intensive use and disposition, and thus Congress believes that the need for future legislation designating new conservation system units, new national conservation areas, or new national recreation areas, has been obviated thereby.” ANILCA § 101,16 U. S. C. § 3101 (emphasis added).

       The House Report declared the following to be the purpose of the bill:
      “The principal purpose of H. R. 39 is [sic] amended and reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs is to designate approximately 120 million acres of Federal land in Alaska for protection of their resource values under permanent Federal ownership and management.... It virtually completes the public land allocation process in Alaska which began with the Statehood Act of 1958 which granted the State the right to select approximately 104 million acres of public land; this land grant is less than 30 percent complete. The Federal land disposal process was continued by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 which granted Alaska Natives the right to select approximately 44 million acres of federal land; this process is only one-eighth complete.” H. R. Rep. No. 96-97, pt. 1, p. 135 (1979).
      See also H. R. Rep. No. 96-97, pt. 2, p. 89 (1979); S. Rep. No. 96-413, p. 126 (1979).

      Title I sets forth the Act’s purposes and definitions. Titles X and XV pertain to mineral resources. Title XI governs transportation and utility systems in and across, and access into, conservation system units, Title XII provides for federal-state cooperation, and Title XIII contains miscellaneous administrative provisions.

       The Ninth Circuit relied on this provision in support of its conclusion that the phrase “in Alaska” is ambiguous and can be read to include the OCS. See 746 F. 2d, at 575.

       See also 125 Cong. Rec. 9893 (1979) (remarks of Rep. Vento) (“[The Udall-Anderson bill] provides for the potential exploration and development of approximately 95 percent of the onshore areas which have either high or favorable potential for oil and gas and 100 percent of the offshore potential sites, which . . . comprises two-thirds of Alaska’s oil potential”); id., at 9907 (remarks of Rep. Young) (“I will tell the Members this: The person who supports offshore drilling in Alaska first over onshore drilling is doing a great disservice to the environment”); id., at 11174 (remarks of Rep. Huckaby) (“Alaska’s offshore oil potential is estimated to be some 16 to 25 billion barrels”).

       See also 126 Cong. Rec. 21889 (1980) (remarks of Sen. Bayh) (“100 percent of the offshore sites would remain available to exploration”); id., at 21657 (remarks of Sen. Cranston) (same); id., at 18747 (remarks of Sen. Hart) (“[M]ost of Alaska’s undiscovered oil and gas lies offshore, and so would not be affected by these land designations”); 125 Cong. Rec. 11450 (1979) (remarks of Rep. Kostmayer) (“Two hundred and five million acres offshore are untouched by the Udall-Anderson bill”).
      The Ninth Circuit also relied on the fact that ANILCA’s subsistence provisions, as finally enacted, cover all federal lands in Alaska and that its saving clause, 16 U. S. C. § 3125, specifies that the subsistence provisions do not affect the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA), 90 Stat. 331, 16 U. S. C. § 1801 et seq. (1982 ed. and Supp. III). 746 F. 2d, at 581. Under the FCMA, the United States asserts exclusive fishery management authority in the fishery conservation zone which commences at the boundary of the coastal States and extends 200 miles from the coast. 16 U. S. C. §§ 1811, 1812(1). According to the Court of Appeals, the inclusion of the FCMA in the saving clause indicates that ANILCA applies to the OCS. However, the FCMA also applies to “anad-romous species throughout the migratory range of each such species beyond the fishery conservation zone,” which would include waters within the State of Alaska. 16 U. S. C. § 1812(2). Thus, there is no need to interpret “Alaska” to include the OCS in order to give meaning to the FCMA’s inclusion in the saving clause.

      Indeed, the Court itself recognizes this when it declines to reach two additional questions that were presented in the petition. See ante, at 534-535, n. 1. This is not a case in which discussion of a nonessential issue is arguably appropriate because the lower court is likely to employ the identical legal analysis on remand. Even if, in light of the decisions in this case and the cross-petition, the Court of Appeals finds that respondents retain aboriginal rights in the Outer Continental Shelf, it would apparently not apply the same injunctive relief standard that it applied with relation to ANILCA. The special injunctive standard applied to the ANILCA claim was based on Circuit precedent providing that, absent unusual circumstances, “[a]n injunction is the appropriate remedy for a substantive procedural violation of an environmental statute.” People of Gambell v. Hodel, 774 F. 2d 1414, 1422 (1985) (emphasis added). See generally Save Our Ecosystems v. Clark, 747 F. 2d 1240, 1250 (CA9 1984). There is no reason to believe that this rule would be extended to injunctions designed to prevent interference with aboriginal rights.


author: Justice Stevens

text:
    ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY CO. v. BUELL
    No. 85-1140.
    Argued December 1, 1986
    Decided March 24, 1987

      Stevens, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.

      Rex E. Lee argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were R. Eden Martin, Ronald S. Flagg, John H. Ernster, and Thomas D. Peterson-More.

      James R. McCall argued the cause and filed a brief for respondent.

      Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Association of American Railroads et al. by Stephen A. Trimble, Richard W. Turner, and John M. Clifford; and for the National Railway Labor Conference by I. Michael Greenberger.

      Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations et al. by Marsha Berzon, Lawrence M. Mann, Jerome M. Alper, and Laurence Gold; and for the Teamsters for a Democratic Union et al. by Paul Alan Levy and Alan B. Morrison.

   Justice Stevens

delivered the opinion of the Court.

A railroad has a duty to use reasonable care in furnishing its employees with a safe place to work. That duty was recognized at common law, see Bailey v. Central Vermont R. Co., 319 U. S. 350, 352-353 (1943), is given force through the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), 45 U. S. C. § 51 et seq., and is confirmed in some, if not all, collective-bargaining agreements. Breaches of the duty may at times give rise to typical labor disputes for which the Railway Labor Act (RLA), 44 Stat. 577, as amended, 45 U. S. C. §151 et seq., sets forth binding arbitration procedures. Breaches may also result in injuries to a railroad’s employees — injuries for which the FELA would appear to give employees a cause of action for damages. The question in this case is whether the possibility of pursuing a labor grievance under the RLA deprives an employee of his right to bring an FELA action.

I

Respondent, a carman employed by petitioner, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company (Railroad), filed an FELA complaint in Federal District Court, alleging that he had suffered severe personal injuries as a result of the Railroad’s failure

“to provide [him] with a safe place to work, including, but not limited to, having fellow employees harass, threaten, intimidate [him], and in particular, foreman Ed Wright threatened, harassed, and intimidated [him] maliciously and oppressively, negligently, and intentionally, in order to cause personal injury to [him] and to cause mental and emotional suffering. All said acts were condoned and approved by [the Railroad] and as a direct and proximate result of said negligence and intentional acts, [he] was caused to suffer an emotional breakdown, thus inflicting on [him] injuries and damages as hereinafter alleged.” App. 7.

The Railroad filed an answer, asserting, among other defenses, that respondent’s sole remedy was before the National Railroad Adjustment Board (Adjustment Board) pursuant to the RLA. Id., at 10-13.

Through the ensuing discovery, the Railroad identified various incidents of harassment that were embraced within the complaint’s allegations, and also established that its collective-bargaining agreement with respondent’s union allowed an employee to prosecute a grievance through successive levels of appeal up to and including mutually binding arbitration before the Adjustment Board. Discovery also brought out that respondent had suffered a mental breakdown, and certain associated physical disorders, that required his hospitalization for 17 days.

The Railroad then moved for dismissal or for summary judgment. The ground for its motion, in the Railroad’s own words, was that “there is no subject matter jurisdiction in the district court to entertain an action concerning a labor dispute between a ‘carrier’ subject to the Railway Labor Act and its employees.” Record Doc. No. 42, p. 6. The District Court accepted this argument, and granted summary judgment on “the narrow question of the availability to an employee covered by the RLA of an FELA remedy based on an alleged negligent failure to maintain a safe workplace.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 11a. The Court of Appeals reversed. It held that respondent’s claims were not arbitrable under the RLA, and that an FELA action was therefore not precluded. 771 F. 2d 1320, 1323-1324 (CA9 1985). Additionally, although the question had neither been raised by the parties nor addressed by the District Court, the Court of Appeals proclaimed that a relevant “issue, one of first impression in this circuit, is whether a Railroad employee’s wholly mental injury stemming from his railroad employment is compensable under the [FELA].” Id., at 1321. The Court of Appeals concluded that the FELA does authorize recovery for emotional injury. Because of the important role these two statutes play in railway labor relations, we granted certiorari. 476 U. S. 1103 (1986).

I — I I — \

In 1906, Congress enacted the FELA to provide a federal remedy for railroad workers who suffer personal injuries as a result of the negligence of their employer or their fellow employees. A primary purpose of the Act was to eliminate a number of traditional defenses to tort liability and to facilitate recovery in meritorious cases. The Act expressly prohibits covered carriers from adopting any regulation, or entering into any contract, to limit their FELA liability. The coverage of the statute is defined in broad language, which has been construed even more broadly. We have recognized generally that the FELA is a broad remedial statute, and have adopted a “standard of liberal construction in order to accomplish [Congress’] objects.” Urie v. Thompson, 337 U. S. 163, 180 (1949).

The RLA, by contrast, provides a comprehensive framework for the resolution of labor disputes in the railroad industry. Enacted in 1926, the text of the RLA does not mention the FELA or otherwise deal with the subject of tort liability. Rather, the RLA establishes elaborate administrative procedures for the resolution of both major and minor labor disputes. The statutory procedures for resolving “major disputes” — those arising “out of the formation or change of collective [bargaining] agreements covering rates of pay, rules, or working conditions,” Detroit & T. S. L. R. Co. v. Transportation Union, 396 U. S. 142, 145, n. 7 (1969) — are not relevant to this case. The “minor dispute” provisions are relevant, however, because the Railroad argues that the underlying dangerous condition in this case could have been grieved as a minor dispute — one “growing out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements concerning rates of pay, rules, or working conditions,” 45 U. S. C. § 153, First (i). Minor disputes initially must be dealt with through a railroad’s internal dispute resolution processes, and if not settled there, may be submitted to a division of the Adjustment Board, or to a Public Law Board, which is an arbitration board chosen by the parties. Judicial review of these Boards’ determinations has been characterized as “‘among the narrowest known to the law.’” Union Pacific R. Co. v. Sheehan, 439 U. S. 89, 91 (1978) (citation omitted).

The Railroad makes three arguments in support of its contention that respondent may not bring an FELA action for his injuries. First, it argues that the exclusive forum for any dispute arising out of workplace conditions is the RLA. Second, it argues that even if many workplace injuries are actionable under the FELA, emotional injuries should not be actionable because of their close relationship to minor disputes that are to be brought under the RLA. Finally, the Railroad responds to the Court of Appeals’ discussion of whether the term “injury” as used in the FELA includes purely emotional injury, and argues that it does not. We reject the Railroad’s first two arguments. As for the third argument, which focuses on the scope of the FELA, we believe that the record is insufficiently developed at this preliminary stage to allow us, or the Court of Appeals, to express an opinion on respondent’s ultimate chances of recovery under the FELA.

Ill

The Railroad asserts first that employees have the right to have defects in the workplace corrected by resorting to the grievance machinery that is in place pursuant to the RLA, and that the RLA is the exclusive remedy for such minor disputes. Indeed, in this case, preliminary though abortive steps in that direction were actually taken. Thus, the Railroad argues that an FELA action for damages is barred. We find no merit in this argument. The fact that an injury otherwise compensable under the FELA was caused by conduct that may have been subject to arbitration under the RLA does not deprive an employee of his opportunity to bring an FELA action for damages. Presumably a host of personal injuries suffered by railroad employees are caused by negligent practices and conditions that might have been cured or avoided by the timely invocation of the grievance machinery. See Yawn v. Southern R. Co., 591 F. 2d 312, 317 (CA5 1979). But we have never considered that possibility a bar to an employee’s bringing an FELA claim for personal injuries, and the Railroad has not persuaded us to do so now.

This Court has, on numerous occasions, declined to hold that individual employees are, because of the availability of arbitration, barred from bringing claims under federal statutes. See, e. g., McDonald v. West Branch, 466 U. S. 284 (1984); Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., 450 U. S. 728 (1981); Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U. S. 36 (1974). Although the analysis of the question under each statute is quite distinct, the theory running through these cases is that notwithstanding the strong policies encouraging arbitration, “different considerations apply where the employee’s claim is based on rights arising out of a statute designed to provide minimum substantive guarantees to individual workers.” Barrentine, supra, at 737.

This principle is instructive on the question before us. The FELA not only provides railroad workers with substantive protection against negligent conduct that is independent of the employer’s obligations under its collective-bargaining agreement, but also affords injured workers a remedy suited to their needs, unlike the limited relief that seems to be available through the Adjustment Board. It is inconceivable that Congress intended that a worker who suffered a disabling injury would be denied recovery under the FELA simply because he might also be able to process a narrow labor grievance under the RLA to a successful conclusion. As then District Judge J. Skelly Wright concluded, “the Railway Labor Act . . . has no application to a claim for damages to the employee resulting from the negligence of an employer railroad.” Barnes v. Public Belt R. R. Comm’n for City of New York, 101 F. Supp. 200, 203 (ED La. 1951).

It is true that the RLA remedy for the resolution of minor disputes is “in at least some situations” exclusive. Andrews v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 406 U. S. 320, 325 (1972). In Andrews, an employee brought a state wrongful discharge claim based squarely on an alleged breach of the collective-bargaining agreement. We held that Congress had intended the RLA dispute resolution mechanism to be mandatory for that type of dispute, and that courts were therefore foreclosed from addressing claims that properly arise under the RLA. In this case, by contrast, Congress has enacted the FELA to serve as the statutory basis for the award of damages to employees injured through an employer’s or coworker’s negligence.

Unwilling to rely solely on the argument that any injury caused by a condition that could have been the subject of a grievance under the RLA is not actionable under the FELA, petitioner and various amici argue, in the alternative, that the RLA requires that a narrow “emotional injury” exception be carved out of the FELA. Because they fear that many workers alleging emotional injuries are really complaining of unhappiness arising out of everyday workplace disputes, they ask us to hold that the RLA provides the exclusive remedy for this ill-defined class of injuries. Even if we were to find some authority allowing us to rewrite the FELA in this manner, we are not persuaded that it would be appropriate to do so. There is no basis for assuming that allowing FELA actions for emotional injury will wreak havoc with the general scheme of RLA arbitration, and absent an intolerable conflict between the two statutes, we are unwilling to read the RLA as repealing any part of the FELA. See Morton v. Mancari, 417 U. S. 535, 550 (1974). Although we do not decide today whether purely emotional injuries are cognizable under the FELA, we stress that it is the FELA that controls that inquiry, not the RLA. As far as a worker’s right to damages under the FELA is concerned, Congress’ enactment of the RLA has had no effect.

> I — I

The Railroad also contends that the judgment of the Court of Appeals should be reversed because it erroneously concluded that a railroad employee’s “wholly mental injury” is compensable under the FELA. The problem with our addressing this argument is that, because of the posture in which this case comes before us, the record has never been developed on the exact nature of the allegedly tortious activity, or the extent of the injuries that respondent claims to have suffered. As we have mentioned, petitioner’s motion for dismissal or for summary judgment was based on the sole ground that an employee’s exclusive remedy for a railroad’s failure to maintain a safe workplace is to file a grievance-under the RLA. Respondent's memorandum, of course, sought to respond to that narrow argument alone, and did not deal with the question whether emotional injury is actionable under the FELA.

The question whether “emotional injury” is cognizable under the FELA is not necessarily an abstract point of law or a pure question of statutory construction that might be answerable without exacting scrutiny of the facts of the case. Assuming, as we have, that FELA jurisprudence gleans guidance from common-law developments, see Urie v. Thompson, 337 U. S., at 174, whether one can recover for emotional injury might rest on a variety of subtle and intricate distinctions related to the nature of the injury and the character of the tortious activity. For example, while most States now recognize a tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, they vary in the degree of intent required to establish liability, and the level of physical manifestation of the emotional injury required to support recovery. Moreover, some States consider the context and the relationship between the parties significant, placing special emphasis on the workplace. In addition, although many States have now recognized a tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress, they too vary in the degree of objective symptomatol-ogy the victim must demonstrate. These issues are only-exemplary of the doctrinal divergences in this area. In short, the question whether one can recover for emotional injury may not be susceptible to an all-inclusive “yes” or “no” answer. As in other areas of law, broad pronouncements in this area may have to bow to the precise application of developing legal principles to the particular facts at hand.

Since, through no fault of either party, we do not know what all those facts are in this case, we cannot begin to decide whether respondent will be able to support his allegation that petitioners are liable to him under the FELA. Given the posture of the case, there was no reason for the Court of Appeals to express an opinion on this issue. Without agreeing or disagreeing with the merits of the Court of Appeals’ discussion of the emotional injury issue, we affirm its judgment only to the extent that it rejects the RLA preclusion argument advanced by the Railroad.

Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and vacated in part, and the case is remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

       Most of the incidents involved Ed Wright, respondent’s immediate supervisor. He allegedly insisted that respondent and other carmen complete certain ear inspection reports in an improper manner, directed respondent to help him remove company property from the yard, repeatedly threatened to discharge respondent, and condoned conduct by other employees that was obviously intended to humiliate respondent.

       Respondent and several other carmen requested their union to prepare a written grievance and the union discussed respondent’s complaints with the Railroad, but no formal grievance was ever initiated.

       One of the captions in the Railroad’s brief in the Court of Appeals stated without reservation that “[t]he sole issue is whether plaintiff’s claims are subject to the mandatory, exclusive administrative jurisdiction of the NRAB.” See Brief for Appellee in No. 84-2288 (CA9), p. 18.

       At the hearing on the motion to dismiss or for summary judgment the District Court stated: “The matter is on today’s calendar for defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the complaint raises issues that are within the jurisdiction of National Railroad Adjustment Board, and therefore not within this Court’s jurisdiction.” 3 Tr. 2.

       The original 1906 enactment, 34 Stat. 232, was struck down in Howard v. Illinois Central R. Co., 207 U. S. 463 (1908), on the ground that it applied to intrastate as well as interstate commerce. In 1908, Congress enacted another version, 35 Stat. 65, which applied only to interstate commerce, and included some substantive modifications.

       Section 5 of the FELA, as codified, provides, in part:
      “Any contract, rule, regulation, or device whatsoever, the purpose or intent of which shall be to enable any common carrier to exempt itself from any liability created by this chapter, shall to that extent be void.” 45 U. S. C. §55.

       Section 1 of the FELA, as codified, provides, in part:
      “Every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several States . . . shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce . . . resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, tract, roadbed, works, boats, wharves, or other equipment.” 45 U. S. C. §51.

       Thus, for example, with respect to causation, we have held that “the test of a jury case” under the statute is “simply whether the proofs justify with reason the conclusion that employer negligence played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury or death for which damages are sought.” Rogers v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 352 U. S. 500, 506 (1957). Indeed, in the spirit of broad construction, the FELA has been construed to cover some intentional torts even though its text only mentions negligence. See Jamison v. Encarnacion, 281 U. S. 635, 641 (1930); Lancaster v. Norfolk & Western R. Co., 773 F. 2d 807, 812-813 (CA7 1985), cert. pending, No. 85-1702; Slaughter v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 112 U. S. App. D. C. 327, 302 F. 2d 912, cert denied, 371 U. S. 827 (1962); see generally Annot., Liability Under Federal Employers’ Liability Act for Intentional Tort, 8 ALR 3d 442 (1966).

       In enacting the RLA:
      “Congress endeavored to promote stability in labor-management relations in this important national industry by providing effective and efficient remedies for the resolution of railroad-employee disputes arising out of the interpretation of collective-bargaining agreements. See Gunther v. San Diego & A. E. R. Co., [382 U. S. 257 (1965)]; Union Pacific R. Co. v. Price, [360 U. S. 601 (1959)]; Slocum v. Delaware, L. & W. R. Co., 339 U. S. 239 (1950). The Adjustment Board was created as a tribunal consisting of workers and management to secure the prompt,, orderly and final settlement of grievances that arise daily between employees and carriers regarding rates of pay, rules, and working conditions. Union Pacific R. Co. v. Price, supra, at 611; Elgin J. & E. R. Co. v. Burley, 327 U. S. 661, 664 (1946). Congress considered it essential to keep these so-called ‘minor’ disputes within the Adjustment Board and out of the courts.
        Trainmen v. Chicago, R. & I. R. Co., 353 U. S. 30, 40 (1957).” Union Pacific R. Co. v. Sheehan, 439 U. S. 89, 94 (1978).

      In analyzing the Railroad’s arguments that the RLA precludes an FELA action for this type of injury, it is essential to recognize that the arguments do not depend on the Railroad’s alternative argument that the FELA does not provide damages for purely emotional injury. The preclusion argument turns, not on the nature of an employee’s injury, but on the source of the injury.

      See, e. g., Bailey v. Central Vermont R. Co., 319 U. S. 350 (1943); Lavender v. Kurn, 327 U. S. 645 (1946); Ellis v. Union Pacific R. Co., 329 U. S. 649 (1947); cf. Gateway Co. v. Mine Workers, 414 U. S. 368 (1974).

      See Lewy v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co., 799 F. 2d 1281, 1295, 1297 (CA9 1986) (RLA remedies are backpay and reinstatement); National Railroad Ajustment Board, First Division, Award No. 16111 (Feb. 23, 1953) (“[T]here is a remedy to correct the practice if it is wrong, even though it does not extend to a money damage”). Counsel for petitioner also represented that the Adjustment Board only awards “damages in the sense of reinstatement and back pay,” and cannot “award damages in the sense of the kinds of damages that a court would under an FELA” action. Tr. of Oral Arg. 11.

      Petitioner predicts that if emotional injuries are cognizable under the FELA, virtually no employees will pursue grievances through the RLA since ‘“every employee who believes he has a legitimate grievance will doubtless have some emotional anguish.’ ” Brief for Petitioner 24 (quoting Magnuson v. Burlington Northern, Inc., 576 F. 2d 1367, 1369 (CA9), cert. denied, 439 U. S. 930 (1978)). Indeed, one amicus asserts that a large portion of the 183,800 grievances filed in 1985 would be pursued as FELA actions instead, thus creating the “potential for doubling the volume of civil filings in the federal courts.” Brief for Association of American Railroads et al. as Amici Curiae 16. This parade of horribles mistakenly assumes that a significant percentage of employees bringing grievances suffer the type of severe emotional injury that has generally been required to establish liability for purely emotional injury, see n. 18, infra, and that a significant percentage of employees are subject to the type of unconscionable abuse which is a prerequisite to recovery. In Farmer v. Carpenters, 430 U. S. 290 (1977), we held that a state action for intentional infliction of emotional distress was not pre-empted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and pointed out that the risk of interference with the NLRA was minimized by the fact that state law permitted “recovery only for emotional distress sustained as a result of ‘outrageous’ conduct.” Id., at 305. See generally American Bar Association’s Special Committee on the Tort Liability System, Towards a Jurisprudence of Injury: The Continuing Creation of a System of Substantive Justice in American Tort Law 5-17 (1984) (courts have been properly concerned to keep tort from becoming a remedy for minor upsets); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46(d) (1965) (hereafter Restatement) (discussing “outrage” element).

       See nn. 3 and 4, supra. Indeed, in ruling on the motion the District Court explicitly stated that the railroad did not dispute at that juncture that the claim fell under the FELA, but instead “[sought] to avoid the issue by contending that exclusive jurisdiction to resolve plaintiff’s claim lies elsewhere.” Record Doc. No. 44, p. 4.

       Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, respondent had no duty to set out all of the relevant facts in his complaint. See Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 8; Conley v. Gibson, 355 U. S. 41, 47-48 (1957). Had petitioner moved for summary judgment on the ground that FELA does not recognize claims for respondent’s type of injury, respondent would have had the opportunity to supplement the record with relevant facts to contest that motion. See Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 56(c). As we explained last Term, summary judgment is available only when, “after adequate time for discovery and upon motion,” the party seeking summary judgment has satisfied its “responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U. S. 317, 323 (1986).

       The tort of intentional infliction of mental distress as described in § 46 of the Restatement [(Second) of Torts] can be safely characterized as the general rule in the United States. ... As of 1977, 37 jurisdictions had ree-ognized the tort.” Leithead v. American Colloid Co., 721 P. 2d 1059, 1066 (Wyo. 1986).

       The Restatement §46(1) sets forth an “intentionally or recklessly” standard. Many jurisdictions have adopted this test. See, e. g., Watts v. Golden Age Nursing Home, 127 Ariz. 255, 258, 619 P. 2d 1032, 1035 (1980) (recklessness); Davidson v. Westminster, 32 Cal. 3d 197, 209, 649 P. 2d 894, 901 (1982) (recklessness); Freihofer v. Hearst Corp., 65 N. Y. 2d 135, 143, 480 N. E. 2d 349, 355 (1985) (recklessness). Others apply different standards. See, e. g., M. B. M. Co. v. Counce, 268 Ark. 269, 277, 596 S. W. 2d 681, 685-686 (1980) (willful or wanton); Anderson v. Prease, 445 A. 2d 612, 613 (D. C. App. 1982) (intention can be inferred from outra-geousness of conduct); Hall v. May Department Stores Co., 292 Ore. 131, 135, 637 P. 2d 126, 129 (1981) (indifference and gross negligence not enough); Wright v. Hasley, 86 Wis. 2d 572, 576, 273 N. W. 2d 319, 321 (1979) (“purposely”).

       One leading commentary states that “[ijn.the great majority of cases allowing recovery the genuineness of the mental disturbance has been evidenced by resulting physical illness of a serious character.” W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton, & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton on Law of Torts 64 (5th ed. 1984). The American Law Institute urges that as long as the distress is “genuine and severe,” bodily harm should not be required. Restatement § 46(k). Many jurisdictions have adopted the Restatement’s approach, see, e. g., Poulsen v. Russell, 300 N. W. 2d 289, 291 (Iowa 1981); Vicnire v. Ford Motor Credit Co., 401 A. 2d 148, 154 (Me. 1979). Others, however, appear to be more demanding in their scrutiny. See, e. g., Hubbard v. United Press International, Inc., 330 N. W. 2d 428, 437-440 (Minn. 1983); Hassing v. Wortman, 214 Neb. 154, 158-166, 333 N. W. 2d 765, 767-771 (1983).

       See Hall, supra, at 131, 637 P. 2d, at 126; Contreras v. Crown Zellerbach Corp., 88 Wash. 2d 735, 741, 565 P. 2d 1173, 1176-1177 (1977); Alcorn v. Anbro Engineering, Inc., 2 Cal. 3d 493, 498, n. 2, 468 P. 2d 216, 218, n. 2 (1970).

       For example, while the traditional rule was that a plaintiff could not recover for mental injuries unconnected with actual or threatened impact, the majority of jurisdictions now appear to have abandoned that rule. See generally Gates v. Richardson, 719 P. 2d 193, 195, n. 1 (Wyo. 1986) (citing cases from 37 jurisdictions); Restatement §§ 313, 436, 436A; Bell, The Bell Tolls: Toward Full Tort Recovery for Psychic Injury, 36 U. Fla. L. Rev. 333,336-340 (1984); Note, Administering the Tort of Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress: A Synthesis, 4 Cardozo L. Rev. 487 (1983).

       As the Wyoming Supreme Court recently observed: “[Ajmong the courts that recognize the cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress, there is a great deal of variation in the damages they allow.” Gates, supra, at 199-200. See, e. g., Leong v. Takasaki, 55 Haw. 398, 403, 520 P. 2d 758, 762 (1974) (no minimum showing of severity); Barnhill v. Davis, 300 N. W. 2d 104, 108 (Iowa 1981) (severe injury); Corso v. Merrill, 119 N. H. 647, 659, 406 A. 2d 300, 308 (1979) (objective physical symptoms). Some courts require an objective showing of physical symptoms to recover for negligent, but not intentional, infliction of emotional distress. See Vicnire, supra, at 157.

       Indeed, it appears that once the facts of this case are fleshed out through appropriate motions or through an eventual trial, it might not squarely present the question of pure emotional injury at all. In the course of respondent’s deposition, he testified that there was at least one episode of an actual assault by some co-workers. 2 Tr. 101, 102. Moreover, he claimed to have suffered physical symptoms in addition to his severe psychological illness. Id., at 7, 8.