Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Defense Fund, Inc., and the Sierra Club v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation

487 F.2d 814, 4 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20001, 6 ERC (BNA) 1068, 1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 7103
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedNovember 9, 1973
Docket72-2997
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 487 F.2d 814 (Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Defense Fund, Inc., and the Sierra Club v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Defense Fund, Inc., and the Sierra Club v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 487 F.2d 814, 4 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20001, 6 ERC (BNA) 1068, 1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 7103 (9th Cir. 1973).

Opinion

487 F.2d 814

6 ERC 1068, 4 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,001

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND, INC., et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Ellis ARMSTRONG, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, et
al., Defendants-Appellees.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, and
The Sierra Club, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Ellis ARMSTRONG, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, et
al., Defendants-Appellees.

Nos. 72-2997, 72-3170.

United States Court of Appeals,
Ninth Circuit.

Nov. 9, 1973.

John A. Edginton (argued), Graham & James, San Francisco, Cal., Michael W. Palmer (argued), Thomas J. Graff, the Environmental Defense Fund, Berkeley, Cal., Harry D. Page, Paul A. Dezurick, Graham & James, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants.

Edmund B. Clark, (argued), Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., Thomas J. Shepard, (argued), Robert C. Morrison, Neumiller, Beardslee, Siegert, Glahn, Shepard & Greene, Stockton, Cal., Kent Frizzell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., James L. Browning, Jr., U. S. Atty., David E. Golay, Asst. U. S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., Richard W. Dickenson, County Counsel, Michael N. Garrigan, Deputy County Counsel, Stockton, Cal., Douglas N. King, George R. Hyde, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., Paul R. Haerle, Joseph A. Darrell, Thelen, Marrin Johnson & Bridges, P. H. McCarthy, Jr., McCarthy, Johnson & Miller, San Francisco, Cal., D. Steven Blake, Sacramento, Cal., for defendants-appellees.

Before HASTIE,* TRASK and CHOY, Circuit Judges.

TRASK, Circuit Judge:

This is another case challenging the adequacy of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq. (NEPA). The statement was filed because a public works project known as the New Melones Dam across the Stanislaus River in California constituted a "major Federal action" which would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The dam was originally authorized by Congress under the Flood Control Act of 1944 and reauthorized under the Flood Control Act of 1962, 76 Stat. 1180, as a multi-purpose project with benefits of flood control, irrigation, fish and wildlife enhancement, power generation and water quality control. The diversion tunnel, a 25 million dollar project, had been substantially completed at the time this action was filed and was therefore not the subject of requested relief. The main construction contract had not been let and this action concerns that contract and the completion of the project. An injunction pending the resolution of this appeal has stayed further project action.

The principal plaintiff is Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. (EDF),1 joined by eleven rafting companies engaged in the business of conducting commercial raft trips on the white water reaches of the Stanislaus River, two individuals who allege that their raft and kayak trips will be injured by the proposed construction, and one individual who alleges his mining claim will be destroyed. Defendants are the Secretary of the Interior, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Secretary of the Army and various officers of the Corps of Engineers.2

The matter has been before the District Court on two occasions. On the first hearing the court determined that:

1. The plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction should be denied.

2. A supplemental EIS should be submitted by the government discussing the uses of the water produced as the "conservation yield" of the project. This EIS was to be submitted to other concerned agencies and to the public inviting comment within 30 days after submission.

3. The final revised EIS should be submitted to the Council on Environmental Quality and to the court and thereafter a second hearing was to be held, with the court retaining jurisdiction of the matter pending final hearing. Environmental Defense Fund, Inc., et al. v. Ellis Armstrong, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, et al., 352 F.Supp. 50 (N.D.Cal.1972).

A second EIS was promptly prepared entitled "Supplemental Data on Use of Conservation Yield," and circulated as required, and the final revised EIS submitted to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and to the public. At the continued hearing before the District Court on March 9, 1973, both the EDF and the Sierra Club waived any objections to a failure to comply with the filing or circulation requirements set out in the CEQ guidelines, and the court proceeded to consider the question of the adequacy of the revised EIS for the New Melones Project.3

Three objections were made to the adequacy of the EIS in its final form. The first was that the supplemental portion dealt only with the conservation yield. This argument was rejected summarily by the court upon the ground that the conservation yield was precisely that to which the trial court had directed the government to address its comments.

Second, complaint was made that the final EIS did not assign priorities of need for the conservation yield, and did not discuss alternate sources of supply and the facts regarding the current water supply in the Central Valley Project of which this dam was alleged to be a part. On this latter issue, the trial court held that it was not the task of the EIS to examine all possible alternative sources of water supply but only those that are reasonable with regard to the project under examination. This was done. We agree with and affirm the judgment of the trial court that the EIS was in fact adequate.4 As to the assignment of priorities, the trial court pointed out that there was a time lag of at least eight years between the commencement of construction and the accumulation of the conservation pool. It would be improvident to make a priority commitment now for needs which might be vastly changed when the water became available. The court's conclusion, to retain jurisdiction throughout the project's development, provides sufficient protection for all parties. The evidence of available water supply without New Melones, and thus the project's need, was in no real conflict. There was a dispute as to the evaluation of that evidence. The court found, and we agree, that correctly interpreted the conservation yield of the project could be used now and would clearly be needed by the time the project becomes operational.

The third challenge to the final statement was for the reason that alternatives for the project were not sufficiently set forth. Yet in the original statement before supplementation, there was a discussion of alternative reservoir sites (original EIS at 73); alternative reservoir sizes at the New Melones site; alternatives to the planned operation such as releases downstream to enhance fisheries and water quality and to meet the demands of other nearby service areas; and alternatives to constructing the reservoir itself, such as channel and levee improvements, floodplain management and abandonment of the project.

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487 F.2d 814, 4 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20001, 6 ERC (BNA) 1068, 1973 U.S. App. LEXIS 7103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/environmental-defense-fund-inc-v-ellis-armstrong-commissioner-bureau-ca9-1973.