Citizens for Responsible Area Growth v. Adams

• Decision Date: 25 May 1982
• Docket Number: Nos. 81-1602,81-1760,s. 81-1602
• Citation: 680 F.2d 835
• Parties: 12 Envtl. L. Rep. 21,025 CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE AREA GROWTH, et al., Plaintiffs, Appellees, v. Brock ADAMS, Secretary of Transportation, et al., Defendants, Appellees. AMCA International Corporation, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 835

680 F.2d 835

12 Envtl. L. Rep. 21,025

CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE AREA GROWTH, et al., Plaintiffs, Appellees, v. Brock ADAMS, Secretary of Transportation, et al Defendants, Appellees AMCA International Corporation, Appellant.

Nos. 81-1602, 81-1760.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

Argued March 2, 1982.

Decided May 25, 1982.

John J. Curtin, Jr., Boston, Mass., with whom Alexandra Leake, William G. Southard, Bingham, Dana & Gould, Boston, Mass., Nicholas D. N. Harvey, Stebbins & Bradley, P. A., and Jack G. Duncan, Hanover, N. H., were on brief, for appellant.

Peter R. Teachout, South Royalton, N. H., for plaintiffs, appellees Citizens for Responsible Area Growth, et al.

Robert F. Eisengrein, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D. C., with whom W. Stephen Thayer, III, U. S. Atty., Concord, N. H., was on brief, for defendant, appellee United States of America.

Before COFFIN, Chief Judge, ALDRICH and BREYER, Circuit Judges.

BREYER, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of appellant AMCA's efforts to build a new hangar for four corporate jet planes at the Lebanon, New Hampshire, airport. The complicated procedural and substantive legal issues it raises can be resolved by focusing upon one fairly simple question: Did the district court abuse its discretion in interpreting a consent decree to prohibit AMCA from building the hangar? We conclude that it did, and that the decree must therefore be modified to allow construction-a holding that moots all other issues in the case.

I

The case was originally brought by an environmental group, Citizens for Responsible Area Growth (CRAG), in February 1979. CRAG sued several federal departments, the City of Lebanon and the Lebanon Regional Airport Authority, claiming that current and proposed development at the airport violated § 102(2) (c) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(c), and several other laws. On August 23, 1979, the district court entered a preliminary injunction. CRAG v. Adams, 477 F.Supp. 994 (D.N.H.1979). The court described the "development" as including 1) "construction of the airport parking lot access roads, taxiways and underground utilities"-all of which had been completed; 2) "construction of the terminal building and related utilities"-which was underway; and 3) "extension of the access road," a "runway extension," and an extension of "underground utilities to the contemplated industrial park"-which were in the design or bidding stage. Id. at 997. The court further referred to the development project as comprising construction of an airport terminal building and the development of an industrial park, utilities, water and sewer lines to the proposed park, runway extension, taxiway system, runway lighting, taxiway lighting, and instrument landing system. Id. at 997 n. 2. This description fairly summarizes CRAG's characterization of the project in its complaint. It also tracks CRAG's description in a subsequent pleading, which said the project included "three major development components: a proposed runway extension ... an expanded new terminal building ... and development of a proposed new industrial airpark ... (all of which) would be served by a common road-utilities infrastructure."

The court concluded that federal involvement in this project was likely to prove significant enough to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(c). This statement had not been prepared. Hence, the court preliminarily enjoined the defendants

from taking any action:

1. To effectuate federal participation ... in ...

a. Any extension of Runway 18-36 ... (or)

b. Any extension from the terminal building ... of a gravel or paved access road or water or sewage utilities to the site of a future proposed industrial park ....

The injunction also forbade the City of Lebanon

2. ... (from) construct(ing) ... or ... commit(ting itself) to undertaking, supervising or funding such extension of the runway, road, or utilities ... as described in ... paragraph 1, above.

On January 29, 1981, the City of Lebanon sold AMCA an option to lease 4.5 acres of land at the airport to build a new hangar. AMCA currently owned a hangar (on other airport land) with room for two jets inside and two outside on the apron. The new hangar would house four jets.

In March 1981, the City of Lebanon asked the district court to rule that its preliminary injunction did not cover the new hangar. It stated that neither the runway extension nor the industrial park road, nor federal funding was involved. CRAG opposed, arguing that there was significant federal involvement. Though CRAG did not claim any federal funds were involved, it stressed that 1) the hangar (like the "airpark") would include office space; 2) the hangar would use the federally funded "infrastructure" (utilities, roads, water lines and so on); 3) building the hangar would require extending the "infrastructure;" and 4) the new hangar proposal had been included in a long-range "Airport Layout Plan" submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in 1978. On March 26, 1981, the court held a status conference, heard argument and ordered the parties to explore settlement.

On May 6, 1981, AMCA filed a motion to intervene under Fed.R.Civ.P. 24, which states:

Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action ... when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and he is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by existing parties.

AMCA pointed out that its hangar and its lease option had become issues in the pending lawsuit; that the disposition of Lebanon's motion affected it more than anyone else; and that it had by far the strongest motive to defend its right to build. In a supporting memo and affidavit, AMCA stated that it will pay all costs of constructing the hangar; that the hangar is outside the proposed "industrial airpark;" that the hangar will not require an extension of the runways, roads, utilities, or structures subject to the injunction; and that the utilities and access roads needed to serve "the hangar will connect to existing, completed utilities which service the terminal building and to the existing terminal access road." On May 14, the federal defendants wrote to the court that settlement negotiations had not proved successful. And, on May 18, they submitted to the court a proposed offer of judgment that had nothing to do with the hangar, but that would have had the FAA prepare an EIS related to the runway extension and the industrial park.

On June 25, 1981, the district court held a hearing and again urged the parties to negotiate a settlement. Later that day, the parties reached agreement on the federal defendants' May 18 draft with several modifications. Two of those modifications are at issue here. The first of these states that the FAA will review the "hangar development ... to determine whether it is related to the 1300 foot runway extension or the 50 acre industrial park only for purposes of determining the need to cumulatively assess. Any party dissatisfied with FAA's conclusion may, forthwith, apply to the Court for review of such determination." CRAG v. Adams, No. 79-61 at P 7(g)(G) (D.Mass. July 1, 1981). The second of these states "(i)t is agreed that the injunction covers all other presently contemplated developments at Lebanon Airport, including hangar development...." Id. at P 10 ("Paragraph 10").

When the parties returned to court that day, they discussed these and other modifications before the judge. On the point here at issue the following exchange occurred between AMCA's counsel, Mr. Curtin, and Lebanon's counsel, Mr. Brown:

MR. CURTIN: Your Honor, as I read (the decree), I don't understand (the circumstances under which) ... we are free to go forward and build our hangar, because it seems internally inconsistent based on my quick reading of this, in which I did not participate. I can't imagine that if the FAA decides rapidly that our hangar does not impact, (and) is not related to the 1300-foot runway extension (or) the 50-acre industrial park, that there is any reason for us to be prevented from building our hangar.

THE COURT: Well, I suggest you talk to Mr. Brown about that.

MR. BROWN: Weren't we going to at that point, when they make their determination, if any other party objects to the determination a motion forthwith was to come to the Court and the Court would then determine the matter? Now, I think the answer to your question, sir, is that if the Court determines that it's unrelated and needs no assessment, at that point you don't have to be a party, Mr. Curtin. At that point I want your rent. I will ask the Court to permit us to permit you to build your lovely hangar, and the sooner that's done the better for both of us, but that procedure was what we worked out in order to expedite it, if we can.

AMCA still objected to the proposed settlement. It argued that the parties, to some extent, had bargained away its rights. The court, however, denied AMCA's May 6 motion to intervene (on the ground that it was not timely) and then accepted the settlement. (AMCA appeals the denial of its motion to intervene.)

On July 1, the FAA wrote to the parties stating that it had "completed a review of the interrelationship between the proposals for the AMCA hangar and the ... extension of Runway 18-36 and the 50 acre industrial park ... pursuant to Judge Zobel's Order of June 25, 1981...." It "determined that there is no interrelationship between the AMCA Hangar project" and the other proposals. It referred several times to "the proposal to relocate the the AMCA hangar," set forth an analysis, and repeated its conclusion and consequent decision not to include "the AMCA hangar...