Taxpayers Watchdog, Inc. v. Stanley, 86-5714
| Decision Date | 19 May 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-5714,86-5714 |
| Citation | 819 F.2d 294,260 U.S. App. D.C. 334 |
| Parties | , 260 U.S.App.D.C. 334, 17 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,905 TAXPAYERS WATCHDOG, INC., et al., Appellants, v. Ralph L. STANLEY, Administrator, Urban Mass Transportation Administration, et al. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 86-02455).
William T. Coleman, Jr., Donald T. Bliss and Jacob M. Lewis, Los Angeles, Cal., were on appellee's, Southern California Rapid Transit Dist., motion for summary affirmance.
Joseph E. diGenova, U.S. Atty., Royce C. Lamberth, R. Craig Lawrence, Edith S. Marshall and Mark E. Nagle, Asst. U.S. Attys., Washington, D.C., were on the federal appellee's motion for summary affirmance.
Nina Bang-Jensen, Washington, D.C., and Robert D. Donaldson, Los Angeles, Cal., were on the oppositions.
Before BORK, SILBERMAN and D.H. GINSBURG, Circuit Judges.
Opinion PER CURIAM.
ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY AFFIRMANCE
Appellee Ralph Stanley, Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration ("UMTA") and intervenor Southern California Rapid Transit District ("SCRTD") have each moved this court for summary affirmance of an order of the district court granting summary judgment to UMTA. Because the district court was correct in granting judgment to UMTA, the motions are granted and the order on appeal is summarily affirmed.
On September 3, 1986, appellant Taxpayers Watchdog ("Taxpayers") filed a complaint in the district court seeking to enjoin UMTA from disbursing $225.6 million in federal funds to SCRTD for the construction of a metro rail system in Los Angeles, California. The complaint alleged that UMTA had contracted with SCRTD to release federal funds for construction of a four mile subway system without first complying with the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq. (1982) ("NEPA").
Following an expedited hearing on September 5, the district court temporarily restrained UMTA from releasing the funds. Shortly thereafter, SCRTD intervened as a defendant, and along with UMTA, opposed the request for injunctive relief and moved for summary judgment. In response, Taxpayers also moved for summary judgment. Following a hearing on October 1, the restraining order was dissolved and judgment entered for UMTA. This appeal followed.
In 1978, in the hope of securing federal funds to improve public transportation in southern California, SCRTD presented to UMTA a document entitled "Draft Alternatives Analysis/Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report." ("Draft EIS"). The Draft EIS presented eleven mass transit alternatives designed to improve public transportation in and around the city of Los Angeles. The Draft EIS was approved by UMTA in May, 1979, and made available for review and public comment during the following month. In September of that year, the SCRTD adopted "Alternative II" as its "preferred alternative." 1 Alternative II was an 18.6 mile subway line between the Los Angeles central business district and North Hollywood.
In April, 1980, after public hearings, the SCRTD and UMTA adopted the first tier environmental documentation. The SCRTD then began the preliminary engineering phase of the project, analyzing in detail the effects of the preferred alternative.
By November of 1983, the SCRTD published its "second tier" or "final" EIS. The final EIS analyzed four alternative plans for the metro rail project: (a) the locally preferred alternative of 18.6 miles of entirely below ground tracks; (b) the same 18.6 mile system with some aerial components; (c) the "minimum operable segment" of 8.8 miles, and (d) a "no project" alternative. Shortly thereafter, the underground 18.6 mile plan was adopted for final design and construction, and UMTA approved the final EIS.
In 1984, however, the federal government dramatically curtailed the funding available for local transit projects. Thus, UMTA could not commit itself to provide funds for the 18.6 mile or even the 8.8 mile systems. In response, SCRTD developed a fifth alternative. This alternative consisted simply of the first four miles of the 18.6 mile system. It was designated as the truly "minimum operable segment" or MOS-1.
In June, 1984, SCRTD requested immediate funding for MOS-1, and asked UMTA to prepare an Environmental Assessment ("EA") for the project. SCRTD had already prepared its own preliminary environmental study. SCRTD concluded that MOS-1 would make a "viable contribution to the greater Los Angeles urban transportation infrastructure" and would ease congestion in the city's central business district.
UMTA issued its EA in August, 1984. The agency noted that "[b]ecause of continuing uncertainty of federal capital funds, this analysis has been undertaken to insure that the 4 mile project would be an independent operable segment." The EA addressed the impact of a four mile system, particularly the effect of a terminal station at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street. In all other respects, MOS-1 was identical to the first four miles of the previously approved 18.6 mile system. The EA also addressed a "no project" alternative. The agency concluded that even a shortened four mile system was preferable to no rail system at all. UMTA concluded that MOS-1 would be "worth the investment when weighed against the benefits ... increased accessibility and decreased total number of vehicle miles traveled in the [central business district] area." The environmental review process for MOS-1 was completed in November, 1984, with the issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact ("FONSI") by UMTA.
Unfortunately, the problems associated with the construction of a rapid rail system in Los Angeles did not end there. Four months after UMTA issued the FONSI for MOS-1, an explosion of methane gas occurred several miles from the proposed terminal station at Wilshire and Alvarado. This explosion occurred in the Fairfax Avenue section of Los Angeles, through which part of the 18.6 mile route beyond MOS-1 was to pass. As a result of the explosion, a local task force report labeled the area a "potential risk zone."
When word of the explosion reached Washington, Congress promptly prohibited the use of any federal funds for construction of any part of the Los Angeles subway system unless SCRTD made a commitment to UMTA that no part of the system would tunnel into or through any risk zone identified by the task force. This congressional action forced SCRTD to scrap the proposed 18.6 mile route and develop a new rail system that would not pass through the Fairfax Avenue area. In June of 1986, SCRTD had identified four potential alternative routes, all of which would utilize MOS-1. The process of developing and choosing a single alternate extension to MOS-1 is still underway. On August 27, UMTA signed a full funding contract with SCRTD, agreeing to release $225 million for the construction of MOS-1.
A party seeking summary disposition bears the heavy burden of establishing that the merits of his case are so clear that expedited action is justified. See Walker v. Washington, 627 F.2d 541, 545 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 994, 101 S.Ct. 532, 66 L.Ed.2d 292 (1980). To summarily affirm an order of the district court, this court must conclude that no benefit will be gained from further briefing and argument of the issues presented. Sills v. Bureau of Prisons, 761 F.2d 792, 793-94 (D.C.Cir.1985). In addition, this court is now obligated to view the record and the inferences to be drawn therefrom "in the light most favorable to [taxpayers]." United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962).
Section 102(2)(c) of NEPA, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4332(2)(c), directs government agencies "to the fullest extent possible"
to include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on
(i) the environmental impact of the proposed action, [and]
* * * *
(iii) alternatives to the proposed action.
Thus, proposals for "major federal action" "significantly affecting the quality of the environment" must be accompanied by a detailed discussion of the reasonably foreseeable effects on the environment of reasonable alternative courses of action. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 606 F.2d 1261, 1269 (D.C.Cir.1979). However, if the responsible official makes a threshold determination that the proposed action will have an insignificant effect upon the environment, an EIS will not be required. Asphalt Roofing Mfg. Ass'n v. Interstate Commerce Comm'n, 567...
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