Sierra Club v. Antwerp
| Citation | 719 F.Supp.2d 58 |
| Decision Date | 30 June 2010 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 07-1756(RCL). |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
| Parties | SIERRA CLUB, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Robert L. VAN ANTWERP, et al., Defendants. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
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Eric Robert Glitzenstein, Howard M. Crystal, Joshua R. Stebbins, Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.
Mark Arthur Brown, Sr., Jessica O'Donnell, Kristofor R. Swanson, Samantha Klein, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
This case concerns a 500-acre multi-use development located in a Tampa, Florida suburb known as Cypress Creek Town Center (CCTC). Plans for the project include retail stores, financial institutions, hotels, restaurants, theaters, offices, and multi-family housing. The project site is located on wetlands, which will need to be “filled” in order for the project to be completed as planned. Because the project site involves the filling of wetlands, the Clean Water Act (CWA) required the project's developers to obtain a special permit prior to construction. Further, the project's developers were required to comply with other federal, state, and local environmental regulations.
The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued a permit for the development in May 2007 and construction started shortly thereafter. Six months later, plaintiffs, three environmental groups and individuals, filed suit alleging violations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the CWA, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Meanwhile, during the initial stages of construction, turbid, silt-laden water was discharged from the development site in violation of the Corps permit. After the discharges, the Corps received this Court's approval to remand the case in order to re-evaluate the permit. After review, the Corps reissued virtually the same permit, concluding that the discharges resulted from human error, rather than a flaw with the permit. Plaintiffs continued their legal challenge alleging: (1) that the Corps violated NEPA by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and by failing to otherwise take a “hard look” at the project's adverse impacts and potential alternatives; (2) that the Corps violated the CWA by failing to require practicable alternatives and by arbitrarily and capriciously concluding there would be no significant degradation of Cypress Creek and its wetlands, and no violations of state water quality standards; and (3) that the Corps and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) violated the ESA by failing to engage in formal consultation on the development's impact on protected species.
Currently before the court are plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, government defendants' motion for summary judgment, and intervening defendant's cross-motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part. Likewise, government defendants' motion for summary judgment and intervening defendants' cross-motion for will be granted in part and denied in part. Specifically, plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on their NEPA and CWA claims will be granted but their motion for summary judgment on the ESA claim will be denied. Consequently, government defendants' motion for summary judgment and intervening defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment regarding plaintiffs' ESA claim will be granted.
The CCTC project site consists of 502.412 acres in Pasco County, Florida, approximately nine miles outside of Tampa, Florida. The project site includes 155.46 acres of wetlands. Wetland systems are comprised of cypress swamp, mixed wetland forests, freshwater marshes, wet prairies and small ponds. Because the proposed project involves the filling of wetlands that are “waters of the United States,” pursuant to the CWA, a Section 404 permit is required from the Corps before the project can proceed. This is because wetlands provide storage areas for storm and flood waters as well as water purification functions.
CCTC's uplands include pastureland, wooded lands and scrubby areas, which provide a buffer zone that protects Cypress Creek. The area also provides wildlife habitat for a number of species. The CCTC project was initially approved by local governments having jurisdiction over the project. In addition, the intervening defendants, the “applicants” in the instant case, were required to obtain an Environmental Resource Permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District for the project. The Environmental Resource Permit also serves as the State Water Quality Certification under the CWA.
In September 2005, Sierra Properties submitted a permit application to the Corps for the CCTC project. The Corps issued a Public Notice on October 31, 2005 and initiated consultation with the FWS in December 2005 concerning the impact on certain protected animal species, specifically the Wood Stork and the Eastern Indigo Snake. The Corps received public comments from state and local agencies, elected officials, organizations, and individual citizens and reviewed the comments. The CWA permit process culminated in a May, 2007 Environmental Assessment (EA) and Statement of Findings. In the EA, the Corps outlined the process it had implemented to assess the environmental review. Specifically, the Corps engaged in an “informal consultation” with the FWS regarding the potential impact on threatened and endangered species. The FWS concurred with the Corps' determination that the project would likely not adversely affect the Wood Stork and Indigo Snake. FWS also concurred with the Corps' determination that the project would have no affect on the Scrub Jay. Concluding that the CCTC project failed to impose any significant environmental impacts, the EA also constituted the Corps' Finding of No Significant Impact under NEPA. Based on these findings, the Corps issued a permit on May 15, 2007.
The 2007 permit authorized the construction of a new town center, including a main street regional mall and power center, which included retail businesses, financial institutions, hotels, restaurants, theaters, gas stations, offices and residential housing. CCTC will also provide parking for more than 14,000 cars. However, within two months of the issuance of the 2007 permit, the site began releasing turbid, silt-laden water into Cypress Creek. While the Corps demanded that the discharges stop and the applicant assured the Corps that the issue was under control, the discharges continued through 2008. On February 1, 2008, the Corps suspended the 2007 CWA permit and concluded it would investigate the causes of the violations to determine whether the violations undermined the Corps' permit decision.
After suspending the 2007 CWA permit, the Corps conducted a review of the causes of the discharges coming from the CCTC site. The Corps issued a public notice advising of the reevaluation and considered additional information. During remand, the plaintiffs submitted additional information about CCTC's potential environmental impacts. After completing additional environmental reviews, the Corps issued a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA), which concluded the prohibited discharges from the site were caused by “human error” rather than as a result of the 2007 permit. On September 3, 2009, the Corps issued a slightly modified permit allowing the CCTC project to continue.
Plaintiffs, three environmental groups, asserted this challenge to the CCTC permit in 2007, claiming that the CCTC permit would degrade Cypress Creek and its wetlands. Plaintiffs asserted that the wetland destruction was unnecessary and unlawful; that the Corps and FWS were required to formally consult on impacts to federally listed species; and that an EIS should have been prepared pursuant to NEPA. After the discharges from the site began and the Corps suspended the 2007 permit, the Court granted the Corps' request for a voluntary remand and stay of all litigation, noting that the Corps “may conduct additional environmental review” pursuant to the ESA, NEPA and the CWA. On September 3, 2009, the Corps notified the Court and the parties that the Corps had issued another CWA permit. Plaintiff's Revised Supplemental Complaint challenges the 2009 CWA permit. Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment [Dkt. 70], Defendants' motion for summary judgment [Dkt. 73], and Intervening Defendants' cross motion for summary judgment [Dkt. 74]. Subsequent to the filings of the motions for summary judgment, plaintiffs' filed a motion for expedited argument due to construction activity at the CCTC project site.
Generally, summary judgment should be granted only if the moving party has shown that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Waterhouse v. District of Columbia, 298 F.3d 989, 991 (D.C.Cir.2002). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, the Court must view all facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The non-moving party's opposition, however, must consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by affidavits or other competent evidence setting forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
However, a federal agency's compliance with its statutory and regulatory obligations is subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA...
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