National Wildlife Federation v. Lewis

• Decision Date: 22 July 1981
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. H 80-47.
• Citation: 519 F. Supp. 523
• Parties: NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION; Eastern Connecticut Citizens Action Group, Inc.; Stop I-84, Inc., of Rhode Island; Connecticut Committee of Correspondence, Inc.; Connecticut Fund For the Environment, Inc.; Connecticut Wildlife Federation; Save Our State Committee, Inc.; and Sierra Club v. Drew LEWIS, Secretary of Transportation; Robert E. Kirby, Regional Federal Highway Administrator, Region 1; Donato J. Altobelli, Division Administration for Connecticut, Federal Highway Administration; and Arthur B. Powers, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut

519 F. Supp. 523

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION; Eastern Connecticut Citizens Action Group, Inc.; Stop I-84, Inc., of Rhode Island; Connecticut Committee of Correspondence, Inc.; Connecticut Fund For the Environment, Inc.; Connecticut Wildlife Federation; Save Our State Committee, Inc.; and Sierra Club v. Drew LEWIS, Secretary of Transportation; Robert E. Kirby, Regional Federal Highway Administrator, Region 1; Donato J. Altobelli, Division Administration for Connecticut, Federal Highway Administration; and Arthur B. Powers, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Civ. A. No. H 80-47.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

July 22, 1981.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David G. Burwell, Washington, D.C., Haynes N. Johnson, Parmalee, Johnson, Bollinger & Bramblett, Stamford, Conn., Daniel Millstone, New Haven, Conn., Arlene Violet, Providence, R.I., for plaintiffs.

Frank H. Santoro, Asst. U.S. Atty., New Haven, Conn., Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Atty., for the Dist. of Conn., New Haven, Conn., Ezra D. Rosenberg, Atty., Land and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants Drew Lewis, Robert E. Kirby and Donato J. Altobelli.

Kenneth N. Tedford, Susan T. Pearlman, Asst. Attys. Gen., Wethersfield, Conn., Carl R. Ajello, Atty. Gen. of the State of Conn., Hartford, Conn., for defendant Arthur B. Powers.

Thomas C. Clark, Grant H. Miller, Jr., Hartford, Conn., Clark, Mayo & Gilligan, Hartford, Conn., for amicus curiae I-84 Yes, Inc.

SUPPLEMENTAL MEMORANDUM AND RULING ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ISSUES CONCERNING THE I-84/I-86 CONNECTOR

JOSÉ A. CABRANES, District Judge:

Introduction

In this action, plaintiffs challenge, inter alia, the decision of the United States Department of Transportation ("DOT") and its constituent agency, the Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA"), to build a connecting highway between Interstate Routes 84 and 86 ("I-84" and "I-86") east of Hartford, Connecticut. The proposed project, known as the "I-84/I-86 Connector," would widen 3.5 miles of existing highway and construct 1.4 miles of new highway in the towns of East Hartford and Manchester, Connecticut. In a previous opinion, familiarity with which is assumed, the court denied plaintiffs' request for review of defendants' plans for two proposed extensions of I-84 in eastern Connecticut. See National Wildlife Federation v. Goldschmidt, 504 F.Supp. 314 (D.Conn. 1980).¹ Plaintiffs contend that, in unconditionally approving the design and location of the Connector, DOT and FHA failed to comply with the obligations imposed by the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., the Federal-Aid Highway Act ("Highway Act"), 23 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and the Department of Transportation Act ("DOT Act"), 49 U.S.C. § 1651 et seq. They argue, in particular, that defendants (1) failed to analyze fully either the need for, or the environmental effects of, the Connector; and (2) failed to plan sufficiently to minimize the harm to public park land which would be caused by the Connector. As a result, plaintiffs contend, the defendant federal agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), which bars final agency action that is "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." On that basis, plaintiffs seek to enjoin further design and eventual construction of the Connector.

In approving the design and location of the Connector, the federal defendants were exercising the authority which Congress has delegated to them by law. Accordingly, the decision of these expert administrative agencies is entitled to considerable deference. In reviewing that decision, the role of the court is limited. The court must ensure that defendants have complied with the procedures required by Congress. It must carefully scrutinize the facts on which defendants based their decision, and determine whether the decision was reasonable. The court may not, however, substitute its own judgment for that of the agencies. As long as defendants have adhered to the applicable procedures and reasonably analyzed the relevant facts, their decision must stand.

Having reviewed the record in this case, the court concludes that, in approving the design and location of the Connector, defendants complied with their obligations under applicable law. Accordingly, the court finds no basis for granting plaintiffs the relief they seek and the defendants' cross-motions for summary judgment are granted.

Background

The decision to build the Connector has been years in the making. I-84 is an interstate highway which, in Connecticut, extends eastward from the New York-Connecticut state line, past Hartford and through East Hartford, Connecticut. Beginning at the East Hartford-Manchester town line, this highway is designated I-86 and extends northeastward toward Boston, Massachusetts. What is today the I-84/I-86 highway was first opened to traffic in 1948 as the Wilbur Cross Highway. Final Environmental/Section 4(f) Statement, Interstate Routes 84 & 86 ("Final EIS") at 3 (Nov. 19, 1979). In 1958, this highway was included in the National System of Defense and Interstate Highways (the "Interstate Highway System").²

In 1971, a new 7.1 mile portion of the Interstate Highway System was opened to traffic in Manchester, Connecticut. This segment of highway extends eastward from Spencer Street, Manchester to Bolton Notch in Bolton, Connecticut. Although this 7.1 mile section of highway is also designated "I-84," it does not connect with either I-84 in East Hartford or I-86 in Manchester. Instead, it ends slightly to the east of the East Hartford-Manchester town line, about 1.4 miles south of the principal artery of the I-84/I-86 highway. Because there is no expressway link between these two sections of the interstate highway, traffic flowing between the two highways is routed along the city streets of East Hartford and Manchester. This has resulted in abnormally heavy traffic along these local roads. Final EIS at 9.

Since 1959, there have been plans to connect these two segments of the interstate highway. Until 1974, it was expected that a new expressway, designated as I-491, would be built for this purpose. I-491 would have extended from the I-84/I-86 interchange at the East Hartford-Manchester line, to the western end of the interstate highway in Manchester, and then southerly toward Glastonbury, Connecticut. Final EIS at 3. In 1970, with the passage of NEPA, DOT became subject to the requirement that it give formal consideration to the environmental impact of all proposed major highway projects. Accordingly, DOT prepared, in 1973, a draft environmental impact statement ("draft EIS") in connection with the projected construction of I-491. Later, when the plans for I-491 were withdrawn, DOT withdrew its draft EIS as well.³

Subsequently, the plans for I-491 were replaced by the present, more modest plan for the I-84/I-86 Connector. The project would improve about 3.5 miles of existing highway and construct about 1.4 miles of new expressway. It consists of three elements. The first is to improve about two miles of the existing I-84 in East Hartford. The highway right-of-way would be widened to accommodate five traffic lanes in each direction, including one priority lane in each direction for buses and carpool vehicles. Existing ramps would be expanded, and new ramps would be built, to improve access between I-84 and the city streets of East Hartford. Final EIS at (i) and 4-5.

The second element of the project is to build a new expressway of about 1.4 miles. It would begin at the western end of the interstate highway segment in Manchester and then run in a northwest direction, meeting the I-84/I-86 highway at a point near the East Hartford-Manchester town line. This new expressway would occupy a right-of-way of about 1000 feet, and would include two traffic lanes in each direction. It would include interchange ramps to connect the new expressway with existing highways, as well as entrance and exit ramps to provide access to local streets. Id.

The third and final element is to improve about 1.5 miles of the existing I-86 highway in Manchester. The highway right-of-way would be widened to accommodate six traffic lanes, including one priority lane, in each direction. Two of the lanes in each direction would be "collector distributor roads" — that is, they would link the existing highway with the newly constructed expressway, as well as providing additional access between the highway and the local streets of Manchester. Id.

Pursuant to NEPA, DOT prepared a draft EIS for the Connector. Because the proposed project would involve the use of land that had been set aside as public parks, DOT was further required, by both the DOT Act and the Highway Act, to prepare a so-called "Section 4(f) statement" which described DOT's efforts to avoid the use of park land for the project. See Section 4(f) of the DOT Act, 49 U.S.C. § 1653(f), and 23 U.S.C. § 138. Pursuant to FHWA regulations, 23 C.F.R. § 771.19(f), the Section 4(f) statement was included in the draft EIS. In 1976, pursuant to FHWA regulations, 23 C.F.R. §§ 771.12(h) and (i), defendants circulated the draft EIS for comment to public agencies and private organizations which possessed either expertise or an interest in the social and environmental impact of the project. In 1977, pursuant to 23 C.F.R. § 790.5, defendants conducted public hearings on the Connector draft EIS in both East Hartford and Manchester.

In 1978 and 1979, defendants approved the final EIS for the Connector. In 1978, defendant Kirby, the Regional Federal Highway Administrator for the Connecticut area, submitted the final EIS to FHWA headquarters in Washington, D.C. for the "prior concurrence" required by 23 C.F.R. § 771.14(c). On October 12, 1979, defendant Goldschmidt, through the FHWA, granted DOT's prior concurrence. On ...