Cite as: 523 U. S. 83 (1998)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
creates such a "cause of action." Under either analysis, the Court has the power to answer the statutory question first.
EPCRA frames the question in terms of "jurisdiction." Section 326(c) states:
"The district court shall have jurisdiction in actions brought under [§ 326(a)] against an owner or operator of a facility to enforce the requirement concerned and to impose any civil penalty provided for violation of that requirement." 42 U. S. C. § 11046(c).
Thus, if § 326(a) authorizes citizen suits for wholly past violations, the district court has jurisdiction over these actions; if it does not, the court lacks jurisdiction.
Given the text of the statute, it is not surprising that the parties and the District Court framed the question in jurisdictional terms. Respondent's complaint alleged that the District Court had "subject matter jurisdiction under Section 326(a) of EPCRA, 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a)." App. 3. The merits questions that were raised by respondent's complaint were whether Steel Company violated EPCRA and, if so, what relief should be granted. The District Court, however, made no ruling on the merits when it granted Steel Company's motion to dismiss. It held that dismissal was required because respondent had merely alleged "a failure to timely file the required reports, a violation of the Act for which there is no jurisdiction for a citizen suit." App. to Pet. for Cert. A26.1 Steel Company has also framed the
1 See also Don't Waste Arizona, Inc. v. McLane Foods, Inc., 950 F. Supp. 972, 977-978 (Ariz. 1997) ("[T]his Court has jurisdiction to hear this citizen suit brought pursuant to 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a) for a wholly past violation of the EPCRA"); Delaware Valley Toxics Coalition v. Kurz-Hastings, 813 F. Supp. 1132, 1141 (ED Pa. 1993) ("This court concludes that 42 U. S. C. § 11046(a)(1) does provide the federal courts with jurisdiction for wholly past violations of the EPCRA"); Atlantic States Legal Foundation v. Whiting Roll-Up Door Manufacturing Corp., 772 F. Supp. 745, 750 (WDNY 1991) ("The plain language of EPCRA's reporting, enforcement and civil penalty provisions, when logically viewed together, compel a con-
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