CONSTRUCTION
STANDARD OF REVIEW = DE NOVO

We review a district court's interpretation and application of a statute de novo. International Union v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc., 6 F.3d 722, 724 (11th Cir. 1993).

An interpretation of statutory language that causes other language within the statute to be meaningless contravenes the "`elementary canon of construction that a statute should be interpreted so as not to render one part inoperative.'" Mountain States Tel. Tel. Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana, 472 U.S. 237, 249, 105 S.Ct. 2587, 2594 (1985) (quoting Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379, 392, 99 S.Ct. 675, 684 (1979))