Justia Environmental Law Opinion Summaries

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sought to expand its store in the City of Sonora. The City Council postponed its vote on the project while a voter-sponsored initiative was circulated, which proposed to adopt a plan for the contemplated expansion. The Council subsequently adopted the ordinance. The Tuoloumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance sought a writ of mandate based on four causes of action, the first of which asserted that the Council violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by adopting the ordinance without first conducting a complete environmental review. The Court of Appeals granted the writ as to the first cause of action, concluding that when a land use ordinance is proposed in a voter initiative petition, full CEQA review is required if the city adopts the ordinance rather than submitting it to an election. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that CEQA review is not required before direct adoption of an initiative, just as it is not required before voters adopt an initiative at an election. View "Tuolumne Jobs & Small Bus. Alliance v. Superior Court" on Justia Law

This dispute concerns the Bonner Bridge, which provides highway access between mainland North Carolina and the Outer Bank's Hatteras Island. Plaintiffs filed suit claiming that defendants violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f, and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Defendants settled on a plan that essentially mirrors what currently exists: replacing the Bonner Bridge and maintaining NC 12 on Hatteras Island. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment regarding plaintiffs' NEPA challenge where defendants have not engaged in unlawful segmentation with respect to the five studied parallel bridge alternatives. The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment regarding plaintiffs' Section 4(f) challenge because a Section 4(f) analysis is irrelevant if the joint planning exception applies. The court remanded for further proceedings. View "Defenders of Wildlife v. NC Dept. of Transp." on Justia Law

This appeal consolidated two cases about United States Forest Service actions in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF). Appellants, (collectively, "Biodiversity") were largely non-profit organizations interested in species and habitat protection in the BHNF. Appellees were the Forest Service and several of its officials tasked with managing the BHNF. Intervenors-Appellees were state and county governments and private groups concerned with how management of the BHNF affected nearby private land, state and county citizens, and visitors. Biodiversity sued the Forest Service regarding the BHNF in two separate proceedings: (1) in the United States Federal District Court for the District of Wyoming, Biodiversity claimed the Forest Service had failed to comply with various federal statutes and regulations; and (2) in the United States Federal District Court for the District of Colorado, Biodiversity moved for relief, arguing the Forest Service had violated a settlement agreement. The district courts denied Biodiversity's petition for review and dismissed Biodiversity's motion, respectively. After careful consideration of the district courts' records, the Tenth Circuit found no reversible errors and affirmed the Wyoming and Colorado courts. View "Biodiversity Conservation, et al v. Jiron, et al" on Justia Law

Riverkeeper attempted to intervene in an effort to prevent LNG from constructing a liquefied natural gas facility and pipeline along the Columbia River in Oregon. Riverkeeper sought review of the Coast Guard's issuance of a letter of recommendation regarding the suitability of the waterway for vessel traffic, contending that the court has jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. 717r(d)(1). Section 717r(d) authorizes judicial review of agency orders and actions that issue, condition, or deny any permit, license, concurrence, or approval. The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the petition for review because the letter of recommendation was not such an order or action under section 717r(d)(1). View "Columbia Riverkeeper v. U.S. Coast Guard" on Justia Law

This case concerns liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9601-75, and its state law counterpart, the Arizona Water Quality Assurance Revolving Funds, A.R.S. 49-281-391, for cleanup costs resulting from the contamination of the Broadway-Patano Landfill Site. The court reaffirmed that a district court has an obligation to independently scrutinize the terms of proposed consent decrees by, inter alia, comparing the proportion of total projected costs to be paid by the settling parties with the proportion of liability attributable to them. The court concluded that the district court properly declined to issue declaratory relief regarding the intervening parties' future CERCLA liability; held that the district court erred in entering the parties' proposed CERCLA consent decrees because the district court failed to independently scrutinize the terms of the agreements, and in so doing, afforded undue deference to the ADEQ; and therefore, the court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Arizona v. Raytheon Co." on Justia Law

Belle filed suit challenging the Corps' issuance of a jurisdictional determination (JD) stating that the property owned by Belle contains wetlands that are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the JD was not a "final agency action" and was therefore not reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 500 et seq. View "Belle Co., L.L.C., et al. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers" on Justia Law

Riverbend Utilities, Inc. challenged the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board’s decision to grant tow groundwater withdrawal permits to the Harrison County Utility Authority. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the Department’s decision. View "Riverbend Utilities, Inc. v. Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board" on Justia Law

CODE appealed the superior court's denial of a petition for writ of mandamus to set aside an environmental impact report (EIR) certification and project approval on the grounds that Mitigation Measure 4.8-8 was ineffective and respondents failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Pub. Resources Code, 21000 et seq. The EIR concerned North Sky River and Jawbone's application to rezone and for a conditional use permit for mobile concrete batch plants in order to build and operate a wind farm in the Tehachcapi Wind Resource Area. The court concluded: (1) as a matter of law, the County's EIR described a legally feasible mitigation measure; (2) as a matter of law, the County was not required to respond to late comments; (3) substantial evidence supported the Board's conclusion that MM 4.8-8 mitigated significant impacts on aviation safety; and (4) the Board was not required to consider either CODE's proffered mitigation measure or the EIR's "environmentally superior alternative." Accordingly, the court affirmed the superior court's order denying CODE's petition for a writ of mandamus. View "Citizens Opposing A Dangerous Environ. v. Co. of Kern" on Justia Law

"At its heart, the present controversy is about noise - specifically, airport-generated noise and its effects on immediate neighbors." Airport neighbor, George Maille, appealed the Superior Court, Environmental Division's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellees City of Burlington and City of South Burlington. The court upheld the South Burlington Zoning Administrative Office's issuance of fifty-four zoning permits to the City of Burlington and Burlington International Airport (BTV) and concluded that applicants were not required to submit a site plan for zoning board approval. Each permit allowed the BTV to demolish, remove, and fill in the cellar hole of a vacant structure on BTV-owned property. Maille contended that the environmental court erred in concluding that site plan review of the applications was not required under the South Burlington Land Development Regulations. Although the Supreme Court disagreed with part of the environmental court’s reasoning, it ultimately affirmed its holding that site plan review was not required for the removal of the structures and the placement of fill in the structures' respective cellar holes. View "In re Burlington Airport Permit" on Justia Law

In 1996 when the Legislature established defendant California High-Speed Rail Authority, it declared the need for an intercity rail system operating at high speeds to complement the existing infrastructure of highways and airports. At the heart of the dispute in this case is the Authority's decision that trains travelling between those destinations should travel through the Pacheco Pass rather than further north at the Altamont Pass. Petitioners challenged the adequacy of the revised final program environmental impact report/environmental impact statement (PEIR/EIS) and the approval of the Pacheco Pass network alternative as the route for the high-speed train (HST) system to connect the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley. They contended the revised final PEIR violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it: (1) provided an inadequate where to elevate the track along the San Francisco Peninsula; (2) used a flawed revenue and ridership model; and (3) had an inadequate range of alternatives, specifically because it rejects an alternative proposed by an expert consulting company (Setec). The Authority moved to dismiss, arguing that federal law preempted any CEQA remedy. The Court of Appeal found no reversible error and affirmed. View "Town of Atherton v. Cal. High-Speed Rail Auth." on Justia Law