Noble Energy, Inc. v. Kenneth Salazar

I concur in the court’s opinion and judgment but write separately to express doubt whether the Interior Department, on remand, will be able to offer an interpretation that is both reasonable and supportive of its action here.

*1247Noble has invoked the rule in United States v. Texas, 507 U.S. 529, 113 S.Ct. 1631, 123 L.Ed.2d 245 (1993), which, as the court’s opinion notes, creates a presumption “favoring the retention of long-established and familiar principles” of the common law, rebuttable by an evident statutory purpose to the contrary. Id. at 534, 113 S.Ct. 1631, quoted ante at 1245. The…