Cite as: 538 U. S. 803 (2003)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
1978 (CDA), 41 U. S. C. § 601 et seq., applies to concession contracts with the National Park Service. Though this question is one that would otherwise be appropriate for this Court to decide, in my view petitioner has not satisfied the threshold requirement of alleging sufficient injury to invoke federal-court jurisdiction. If such allegations of injury were present, however, this case would not raise any of the concerns that the ripeness doctrine was designed to avoid.
I
The CDA provides certain significant protections for private parties contracting with federal agencies. It authorizes de novo review of a contractor's disputed decision, payment of prejudgment interest if a dispute with the agency is resolved in the contractor's favor, and expedited procedures for resolving minor disputes. §§ 607-612. The value to contractors of these protections has not been quantified in this case, but the protections are unquestionably significant.
Ever since the enactment of the CDA in 1978, the National Park Service has insisted that the statute does not apply to contracts with concessionaires who operate restaurants, lodges, and gift shops in the national parks. See, e. g., Lodging of Federal Respondents 1. In its view, the statute applies to Government contracts involving the procurement of goods or services that the Government agrees to pay for, not to licenses issued by the Government to concessionaires who sell goods and services to the public. After the enactment of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998, 16 U. S. C. §§ 5951-5966, the Park Service issued a regulation restating that position. 36 CFR § 51.3 (2002). There is nothing tentative or inconclusive about the agency's position. The promulgation of the regulation indicated that the agency had determined that a clear statement of its interpretation of the CDA would be useful to potential concessionaires bidding for future contracts. Under the Park Service's view,
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