Minnesota Center v. St. Paul Park, No. A05-1029.

• Decision Date: 04 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. A05-1029.
• Citation: 711 N.W.2d 526
• Parties: MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, Appellant, v. CITY OF ST. PAUL PARK, Respondent, R. Gordon Nesvig, et al., Respondents.
• Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals

711 N.W.2d 526

MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY, Appellant, v. CITY OF ST. PAUL PARK, Respondent, R. Gordon Nesvig, et al., Respondents.

No. A05-1029.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

April 4, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Janette K. Brimmer, James L. Erkel, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, St. Paul, MN, for appellant.

George C. Hoff, Amanda K. Morken, Hoff, Barry & Kuderer, P.A., Eden Prairie, MN, for respondent City of St. Paul Park.

Laurie J. Miller, Richard D. Snyder, Debra A. Schneider, Fredrickson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for respondents Nesvig, et al.

Mike Hatch, Attorney General, David P. Iverson, Assistant Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, for amicus curiae Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Considered and decided by LANSING, Presiding Judge; SHUMAKER, Judge; and HALBROOKS, Judge.

OPINION

SHUMAKER, Judge.

Respondent City of St. Paul Park, serving as the responsible governmental unit for purposes of environmental review, adopted an alternative urban area-wide review (AUAR) assessing the environmental impact of a proposed development of respondent R. Gordon Nesvig's property. Appellant Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) filed a complaint contending that the final AUAR was inadequate. The district court granted respondents' motion for summary judgment. MCEA appeals, challenging the scope and adequacy of the assessment of the final AUAR. We affirm.

FACTS

The material facts are not in dispute. This litigation centers on the environmental review of a proposed development of a 667-acre parcel of land owned by respondent R. Gordon Nesvig. The property sits along the east bank of the Mississippi River in Washington County and is located within Grey Cloud Island Township and the City of St. Paul Park. The majority of the property consists of agricultural fields, old fields, and pastures. But woods, bluffs, oak savanna, and limited prairie remnants also exist, and the property includes islands, backwaters, and open water on the Mississippi River. The cliffs along the bluffs are unusual in Minnesota. There are seeps and springs along the bluffs. A bald eagle nests on the property, and two other eagle nests are within a mile of the property. Two endangered and one threatened species of mussels, along with many native species of plants, animals, and birds, are found on the property.

Part of the property is located within the Mississippi River Critical Area Corridor, permanently established in 1979 by executive order of the governor and designated as a "rural open space district." Local government units are directed to protect the Critical Area's resources, prevent and mitigate irreversible damage, and enhance its public value. According to the executive order, rural open-space districts "shall be used and developed to preserve their open, scenic and natural characteristics and ecological and economic functions."

Part of the property is also located within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a 72-mile corridor which is part of the National Park System. Throughout the development, the boundary of the Recreation Area is the same as the Critical Area. As part of the Recreation Area, National Park Service activities are carried out in the corridor with the cooperation of 25 local government units, including Grey Cloud Island Township and St. Paul Park, and several federal and state agencies.

In November 2002, Nesvig; developer D.R. Horton, Inc.; the township; and the city entered into an agreement to develop Nesvig's property. The project was anticipated to begin in 2004 and to "be phased over the next 10-12 years." In March 2003, the city and the township adopted resolutions providing for environmental review through an alternative urban area-wide review (AUAR), stipulated that the city would be the responsible governmental unit (RGU) for the review, and required that the AUAR assess three different development scenarios. A draft AUAR was completed in May 2003, made available for public review, and sent to several entities for review and comment, including federal and state agencies, local governmental units, and the Environmental Quality Board (EQB), the state entity responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the environmental-review rules. Notice of the draft was also published in the EQB Monitor. A total of 20 different agencies, local units of government, nonprofit organizations (including MCEA), and individual citizens submitted comments. The RGU held open houses, workshops, and meetings to review and discuss the draft AUAR and comments to the draft.

In November 2003, a final AUAR was completed. The appendix to the final AUAR contained all of the comments submitted during the review process and was revised to incorporate the changes discussed at three joint workshops between the city and the township. The final AUAR was submitted to the EQB and all entities that commented on the draft. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wrote a letter objecting to the final AUAR in March 2004, but the DNR withdrew its objection in May 2004 after additional meetings with the RGU. On May 17, 2004, the RGU adopted the final AUAR.

In June 2004, MCEA filed a complaint challenging the final AUAR. MCEA (1) alleged that the RGU improperly used an AUAR instead of an environmental-impact statement (EIS) to access the proposed development and that the AUAR inadequately assessed the environmental effects; (2) challenged the project settlement agreement between respondents and the township; and (3) claimed a violation of the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, Minn.Stat. ch. 116B. A November 2004 stipulation and order dismissed most of the complaint, leaving only the issue of whether the RGU's decision on the adequacy of the AUAR was arbitrary or capricious and not supported by substantial evidence or contrary to applicable law.

The parties submitted cross-motions for summary judgment on this issue. The district court denied MCEA's motion, concluding that cumulative impacts within the AUAR-specified boundaries must be considered but that cumulative impacts beyond the boundaries need not be considered. It also concluded that the AUAR is supported by substantial evidence and granted respondents' motion. This appeal followed.

ISSUES

1. Did the AUAR process require the analysis of impacts on a geographical area larger than the project area selected by the RGU?

2. Was the final AUAR inadequate as a matter of law?

ANALYSIS

"Where there is potential for significant environmental effects resulting from any major governmental action, the action shall be preceded by a detailed [EIS] prepared by the [RGU]." Minn.Stat. § 116D.04, subd. 2a (2004). An environmental-impact statement (EIS) analyzes in part a proposed project's "significant environmental impacts." Id. To determine whether significant environmental impacts or "effects" exist, an RGU must consider four criteria, the most relevant to this matter being the "cumulative potential effects of related or anticipated future projects." Minn. R. 4410.1700, subp. 7(B) (2005). A "cumulative impact" is the "impact on the environment that results from incremental effects of the project in addition to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future projects regardless of what person undertakes the other projects." Minn. R. 4410.0200, subp. 11 (2005).

Minnesota statutes, however, "identify alternative forms of environmental review which will address the same issues and utilize similar procedures as an [EIS] in a more timely or more efficient manner to be utilized in lieu of an [EIS]." Minn.Stat. § 116D.04, subd. 4a (2004). An AUAR can substitute for an EIS. Minn. R. 4410.3600, subp. 1 (2005); Minn. R. 4410.3610 (2005). An AUAR's content and format must be similar to an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW), which is a "brief document. . . designed to rapidly assess the environmental effects which may be associated with a proposed project" that aids in determining whether an EIS is needed. Minn. R. 4410.3610, subp. 4; Minn. R. 4410.1000, subp. 1 (2005). An AUAR "must provide for a level of analysis comparable to that of an EIS for impacts typical of urban residential, commercial, warehousing, and light industrial development." Minn. R. 4410.3610, subp. 4. If the RGU has adopted a comprehensive plan in compliance with specific rules, it has discretion to use an AUAR over an EIS. See Minn. R. 4410.3610, subp. 1 (providing that a "local unit of government may use the procedures" for an AUAR instead of an EIS if its comprehensive plan includes certain elements).

Under the AUAR process, the RGU first prepares a "draft environmental analysis document" that addresses the developmental scenarios established in the environmental-review rules. Minn. R. 4410.3610, subp. 5A. This draft is then distributed to the EQB and each of its members, the project proposer, federal agencies (including the Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, and Fish and Wildlife Service), state agencies, a regional-development commission, all local governmental units within which the project will take place, and any other party who requests a copy. Id.; Minn. R. 4410.1500 (2005). The RGU is also required to publish notice of the draft in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the area of the project. Minn. R. 4410.1500. Reviewers have 30 days to submit written comments, and governmental reviewers are granted a 15-day extension upon request. Minn. R. 4410.3610 subp. 5B. The RGU "shall revise the environmental analysis document based on comments received during the comment period." Minn. R. 4410.3610, subp. 5C. The RGU must include "a section specifically responding to each timely, substantive comment received that indicates in what way the comment has been addressed." Id.

After these revisions are made, the RGU must distribute the new document "in the same manner as the draft document and also...