Olmsted Citizens for a Better Community v. United States, Civ. No. 4-84-492.

Citation606 F. Supp. 964
Decision Date20 March 1985
Docket NumberCiv. No. 4-84-492.
PartiesOLMSTED CITIZENS FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY, a nonprofit Minnesota corporation; John Wheeler, Lowell Fredin and Ralph Lindeen, individually, and the City of Rochester, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America; Bureau of Prisons, a bureau of the United States Department of Justice; Norman A. Carlson, Director of the Bureau of Prisons, individually and in his official capacity; Loy S. Hayes, Chief, Office of Facilities Development and Operations, Bureau of Prisons, individually and in his official capacity; State of Minnesota; Olmsted County, and the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners and its members, individually and in their official capacity, Defendants.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 8th Circuit. United States District Court of Minnesota

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Bruce Faulken and Craig Norman, Ross, Faulken & Rosenblatt, Ltd., St. Paul, Minn., for Olmsted County Citizens for a Better Community and the individually named plaintiffs.

Frederick S. Suhler, Rochester City Atty., Rochester, Minn., for City of Rochester.

James E. Lackner, Asst. U.S. Atty., Minneapolis, Minn., and David Collins, U.S. Dept. of Justice, L. Clayton Smith, Jr., Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Washington, D.C., for the U.S., the Bureau of Prisons, and individually named defendants.

Robert R. Nardi, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, Minn., for State of Minn.

Raymond Schmitz, Olmsted Co. Atty., Rochester, Minn., for Olmsted County and Olmsted County Bd. of Com'rs.

ORDER

DIANA E. MURPHY, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Olmsted County Citizens for a Better Community, individual residents, and the City of Rochester have brought suit seeking to enjoin the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) reactivation of a portion of the Rochester State Hospital. Plaintiffs allege violations of their constitutional rights and certain federal statutes, executive orders, regulations and procedures. Jurisdiction is alleged pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1346(f), 1361, 2201, and 2202, and 5 U.S.C. § 702. The matter is presently before the court on defendants' motion for summary judgment.

Background

Plaintiff Olmsted Citizens for a Better Community (OCBC) is a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Minnesota. OCBC is composed of property owners, taxpayers, and registered voters who reside in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The individual plaintiffs are residents of Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota, residing in the area of the proposed site of the federal prison.

Defendant Norman A. Carlson is the Director of the BOP and is sued in his official capacity and individually. Defendant Loy S. Hayes is Chief of the Office of Facilities Development and Operations of the BOP and is sued in his official capacity and individually.

The BOP has taken steps to open a Federal Medical Center (FMC) on the site of the former Rochester State Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. BOP plans to refurbish the former state hospital and use it for the treatment of medical and psychiatric needs of federal inmates.

The site consists of approximately 64 acres of the former state hospital, which was closed by action of the state legislature in 1982. The state hospital treated mental illness, alcohol or drug related problems and provided all forms of psychiatric treatments as well as surgery. The Minnesota Department of Corrections transferred prisoners to the state hospital for acute medical or surgical care, and the hospital treated over 185 inmates between 1972 and 1975. The Minnesota Parole Board granted conditional medical paroles and sent state inmates to the state hospital for psychiatric or drug related treatment prior to their eventual release.

After the state facility was closed due to budget restraints, it was conveyed by quit-claim deed, dated December 29, 1982, from the State of Minnesota to the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners (Board) for one dollar. The conveyance was made subject to the following "exceptions, terms and conditions:"

That in consideration of this conveyance, party of the second part County of Olmsted agrees that any conveyance of the above-described real property will be as follows. Party of the second part may, at nominal cost, convey real property to other governmental entities or nonprofit organizations. The party of the second part agrees that any other conveyance of the above-described real property will be sold at public auction or advertised and sold by sealed bid to achieve maximum market value.

The Board conveyed a portion of the state hospital site to the BOP on May 1, 1984 for $14 million. No public auction was held, nor was the property sold by sealed bid. The price was determined through an independent appraisal, which estimated the site to have a fair market value of $14 million.

Since 1981 the BOP national inmate population has increased over 8,000 to an all time high, on May 24, 1984, of 32,040. The current rated capacity of the BOP's facilities is 24,503. There is therefore a 30% level of overcrowding system-wide.

There are 845 medical beds currently available in the federal prison system. The present medical/surgical/psychiatric population, including those waiting for treatment bedspace, is 1,151. This makes a net deficit of 306 medical beds at the current population. Based on estimates of continued population growth to 1989, BOP predicts a medical bedspace shortage of between 77 and 326 beds, assuming the addition of 364 beds from the reactivation of the Rochester State Hospital.

Director Carlson was first notified of the availability of the former Rochester State Hospital during April, 1983. A tour of the facility was arranged, and Carlson subsequently entered into preliminary negotiations to consider acquiring the hospital for reactivation as a FMC. The BOP submitted a proposal to the Board for its consideration in July, 1983. The BOP also invited the County Board and other local officials (including the Rochester City Council) to attend a tour of two similar BOP facilities in Springfield, Missouri and Butner, North Carolina. The tour was attended by 26 persons, including all members of the County Board, Rochester City Councilman Peter H. Solinger and Rochester Mayor Chuck Hazama.

The County Board held a public meeting on August 30, 1983 to permit the Bureau to meet for discussions and receive comments from the citizens of Rochester and Olmsted County. In excess of 2,000 citizens were present, along with Director Carlson and several Bureau staff members.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS) was prepared and published on November 23, 1983. The period for public comments on the draft EIS closed on February 3, 1984. BOP contends that it reviewed all comments and addressed those that raised significant issues in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which was published on February 24, 1984. All comments received were appended to the EIS. Final commenting on the EIS closed 30 days later on March 24, 1984. BOP contends that all comments to the EIS were reviewed by Director Carlson prior to his decision to proceed with the project and prior to issuing his Record of Decision, which was signed and released on April 17, 1984.

Copies of the Record of Decision were sent to all interested parties, and a copy was published in the Rochester Post Bulletin. A member of OCBC was personally notified by telephone on the morning of April 18, 1984. The Record of Decision stated that the BOP would negotiate with the Board to purchase and activate the former state hospital as a Federal Medical Center.

Several months prior to issuing the Record of Decision, Congress was notified of the potential purchase of the Rochester State Hospital. A check in the amount of $14 million was received by the BOP from the Department of the Treasury on April 25, 1984. Congress' approval was originally expected in the week following the issuance of the Record of Decision, but was delayed by the absence of Congressional staff members. Approval was finally received on May 1, 1984 at 9:50 a.m. Shortly thereafter, BOP presented a formal offer to the Board to acquire the state hospital for $14 million. The Board accepted the offer, and the deed was recorded.

Upon receipt of the $14 million, the State of Minnesota agreed to authorize matching funds in order to establish a four year college program in the City of Rochester. In addition, Olmsted County plans to use a portion of the proceeds to build a solid waste or refuse recycling plant. The current landfill will cease to operate in 1986.

The facility as planned will house 500 inmates and have a staff of 360 full-time employees.1 The inmate population will consist of mental health patients, medical patients, and general minimum/medium custody inmates. The EIS indicated that the BOP proposed to install a double perimeter security fence, site lighting, and electric surveillance systems, to ensure security. In addition, the EIS indicated that an armed mobile patrol would be conducted around the entire perimeter. These patrols were apparently to be conducted on a specially constructed road around the facility. Finally, the EIS indicated that the BOP would add "berms and a natural landscaped buffer zone of both evergreen and deciduous trees on the west site boundary to minimize any visual intrusion on the neighboring community."

Plaintiffs' complaint asserts seven causes of action. Count I alleges that the BOP failed to comply with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4347. Count II alleges that the BOP violated Executive Order No. 11988 (E.D. 11988), which concerns flood plain development, and Department of Justice Guidelines implementing said order. Count III alleges that the United States and the BOP violated 40 U.S.C. §§ 531 and 533, which govern compliance with local zoning ordinances. Count IV alleges that the BOP violated the...

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6 cases
  • Olmsted Citizens for a Better Community v. U.S.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit
    • July 10, 1986
    ...by the government adequately justified the lack of need for a complete environmental statement. Olmsted Citizens for a Better Community v. United States, 606 F.Supp. 964 (D.Minn.1985). 2 We The property at issue in this case is a 160-acre wooded campus bordering a neighborhood of family hom......
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