Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/597

 502US2$28Z 02-10-99 15:12:54 PAGES OPINPGT

Cite as: 502 U. S. 437 (1992)

439

Syllabus Also rejected is its contention that restricting the purchase of Wyoming’s cleaner coal now conserves that coal for future use, since Wyoming will have coal for several hundred years at current extraction rates, and since the argument, raised for the first time in Oklahoma’s brief on the merits, is not supported by the record. Nor does the Federal Power Act’s saving clause—which reserves to the States the regulation of local retail electric rates—exempt the Act from scrutiny under the Commerce Clause. There is nothing in the Federal Act or legislative history evincing a congressional intent to approve the violation of the Clause that Oklahoma seeks to justify, and this Court’s decisions have uniformly subjected Commerce Clause cases implicating the Federal Power Act to scrutiny on the merits. See, e. g., New England Power Co. v. New Hampshire, 455 U. S. 331. Pp. 454–459. 4. No portion of the Act is severable as to any entity touched by its mandate. This Court is the proper forum to decide issues necessary to afford Wyoming complete relief, cf. Dorchy v. Kansas, 264 U. S. 286, 291, and therefore the Special Master erred in recommending that the action against the GRDA be dismissed on the ground that the determination of severability is one of state law. The Special Master also erred in finding, in the alternative, the Act severable as to the GRDA. There are no parts or separate provisions in the invalid section of the Act, which applies to “all entities” providing electric power. Thus, nothing remains to be saved once that provision is stricken, and the Act must stand or fall as a whole. Nor does the evidence support Oklahoma’s argument that its legislature intended the term “all entities” to include only “the GRDA” or “state-owned” utilities. Pp. 459–461. 5. Jurisdiction over this case is retained in the event that further proceedings are required to implement the judgment. P. 461. Recommendations of Special Master adopted in part; exceptions of Wyoming sustained and exceptions of Oklahoma rejected; motion of Wyoming for summary judgment granted and motion of Oklahoma for summary judgment denied. White, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Thomas, J., joined, post, p. 461. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Scalia, J., joined, post, p. 473.

Mary B. Guthrie, Senior Assistant Attorney General of Wyoming, argued the cause for plaintiff. With her on the briefs were Joseph B. Meyer, Attorney General, and Steve