People of the State of Cal. v. U.S. D.O.I., No. 12-55856 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseImperial County and Air District filed suit against the Secretary, claiming that the environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding the Salton Sea did not comply with either the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., or the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7401. Imperial Irrigation, San Diego Water, Coachella, and Metropolitan intervened as defendants. The district court granted summary judgment to defendants, finding that neither plaintiff had standing to sue. Although the court concluded that plaintiffs had Article III standing to sue, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court where the district court correctly found in the alternative that the Secretary did not violate NEPA and the record made plain that the Secretary did not violate the CAA.
Court Description: Environmental Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of federal defendants and intervenor water districts in an action challenging an environmental impact statement prepared by the Secretary of the Interior that analyzed the effects of water transfer agreements on the Salton Sea in southern California. The panel disagreed with the district court and held that the plaintiffs, Imperial County and the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District, had standing to sue. The panel nonetheless affirmed the judgment because the district court correctly found in the alternative that the Secretary of the Interior did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act. The panel also held that the record below made plain that the Secretary did not violate the Clean Air Act.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 1, 2014.
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