Honolulutraffic.Com v. Federal Transit Administration

742 F.3d 1222, 44 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20029, 2014 WL 607320, 78 ERC (BNA) 1325, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2929
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 18, 2014
DocketNo. 13-15277
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 742 F.3d 1222 (Honolulutraffic.Com v. Federal Transit Administration) 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.

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Honolulutraffic.Com v. Federal Transit Administration, 742 F.3d 1222, 44 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20029, 2014 WL 607320, 78 ERC (BNA) 1325, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2929 (9th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

This litigation represents a challenge to the construction of a 20-mile, high-speed rail system (the “Project”) from the western portion of Oahu through the downtown area of Honolulu, Hawaii. Honolulu has been unsuccessfully struggling to cope with traffic congestion since the midl960s. That was when Congress passed the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, later amended in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1978, which mandated the creation of Metropolitan Planning boards to develop long-range plans for efficient public transportation. See 49 U.S.C. §§ 5303 and 5304. Honolulu is now reportedly the second-most congested metropolitan area in the nation. Courtney Subramanian, Top 10 U.S. Cities with the Worst Traffic, Time (May 7, 2013), news-feed.time.eom/2013/05/07/top-10-u-s-eities-with-the-worst-traffic/.

In earlier decades, Honolulu developed plans for a rail system and later for a bus system that never came to fruition. Its efforts are documented in the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) that was prepared for the project we deal with in this case. A survey in 2004 showed broad public support for the concept of a rail system, and in 2005 the Legislature provided the funding mechanism for such a system. The construction of an elevated, high-capacity rail system from the University of Hawaii campus at Manoa, through downtown Honolulu, to an agricultural area known as Kapolei is now underway.

Plaintiffs are a consortium of interest groups and individuals opposing the Project. They filed the action in 2011 against the Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”), the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”), the City and County of Honolulu, and various federal and local administrators. Plaintiffs raise challenges under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4347, the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”), 16 U.S.C. §§ 470 to 470x-6, and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 303. The litigation reflects the controversies that continue over the method and route of mass transit on Oahu.

The district court granted summary judgment to Defendants on the NEPA claims, the NHPA claims, and all but three of the Section 4(f) claims, thereby permitting construction to continue on the first three phases. Plaintiffs appeal. In addition, the court enjoined construction of the fourth phase of the Project pending a remand to the agency on the remaining Section 4(f) claims. There is no appeal with respect to Phase 4.

We first deal with Defendants’ objection to appellate jurisdiction, and we then affirm on the merits.

II. BACKGROUND

Federal law requires long-range planning for a federally funded transportation system in order to identify local purposes and stating federal objectives.

On December 7, 2005, the FTA published its Notice of Intent (“2005 NOI”) to prepare an EIS and Alternatives Analysis [1226]*1226(“AA”) for transit service in Oahu’s corridor linking Kapolei with Waikiki and the University of Hawaii campus at Manoa. An AA is required for federal funding under the Department of Transportation’s New Starts Program. See 49 U.S.C. § 5309. The AA process proceeded in three steps.

First, on October 24, 2006, the City prepared an “Alternatives Screening Memo” identifying the Project’s purpose and need as providing improved mobility in the highly congested east-west transportation corridor; providing faster, more reliable public transportation services in the corridor than those currently operating in mixed-flow traffic; providing an alternative to private automobile travel; improving mobility for travelers; improving transportation system reliability; and improving transportation equity for all travelers. It identified several alternatives to consider for meeting the City’s objectives, including No Build, a Fixed Guideway alternative (public transportation using a separate right-of-way), Transportation Systems Management (improvements to the existing transportation system, including optimizing bus service), and a Managed Lanes Alternative (“MLA”) (a new roadway for buses and other high-occupancy vehicles), and several others.

Second, the City prepared an Alternatives Analysis Report for the Honolulu City Council. That report evaluated the alternatives that had survived the City’s screening process, concluding that the Transportation Systems Management alternative would not offer community or environmental benefits. It also identified several concerns with the MLA, including the possibility of congestion on local roadways near entrances and exits to managed lanes, project costs and eligibility for federal funding, and integration of managed lanes with transit service. The Report concluded that the Fixed Guideway alternative was the most effective alternative in accommodating longer corridor transit trips and increased work commutes, reducing travel time, and consuming the least energy.

Third, the City Council formed a “Transit Advisory Task Force” to “review the AA and [ ] make findings and recommendations to assist the Council in the selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative.” 49 U.S.C. § 5309(d)(2)(A)(i) (requiring selection of a locally preferred alternative pursuant to NEPA). The City Council passed an ordinance in January 2007 selecting an elevated Fixed Guideway system as its preferred alternative, stating that “a fixed guideway system is the best selection for the long-term needs and demands of our growing island population.”

On March 15, 2007, the FTA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS (“2007 NOI”). The NOI requested public comment on five possible transit technologies: light rail, rapid rail (steel-wheel-on-steel-rail), rubber-tire guided, magnetic levitation, and monorail. Experts appointed by the City Council reviewed responses to that request, as well as twelve responses from transit vehicle manufacturers, and selected steel-wheel-on-steel-rail as the technology for the Project. Honolulu voters subsequently approved a City Charter Amendment establishing such a system.

The City and the FTA then prepared a draft EIS and a final EIS (“FEIS”). The FEIS evaluated a No Build option and three development alternatives, including a Fixed Guideway option from Ala Moana Center to Kapolei via the airport, that was ultimately selected as the preferred alternative. The FEIS stated that other alternatives had been eliminated because Fixed Guideway best met the Project’s purpose and need and because the City Council had selected it as the locally preferred alterna[1227]*1227tive pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 5309(d)(2)(A)(i).

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742 F.3d 1222, 44 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20029, 2014 WL 607320, 78 ERC (BNA) 1325, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2929, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/honolulutrafficcom-v-federal-transit-administration-ca9-2014.