Source: http://openjurist.org/349/f3d/938
Timestamp: 2015-07-30 14:42:39
Document Index: 600228649

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 701', '§ 4321', '§ 1', '§ 400', '§ 1508', '§ 771']

349 F3d 938 Highway Citizens Group v. Mineta E | OpenJurist
349 F. 3d 938 - Highway Citizens Group v. Mineta E Home
349 F3d 938 Highway Citizens Group v. Mineta E 349 F.3d 938
HIGHWAY J CITIZENS GROUP, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Norman MINETA, in his official capacity as Secretary, United States Department of Transportation; Frederick Wright, in his official capacity as Executive Director, Federal Highway Administration; Thomas E. Carlsen, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 03-2644.
Robert B. Corris, Milwaukee, WI, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Charles A. Guadagnino, Office of the United States Attorney, Milwaukee, WI, Frank D. Remington, Office of the Attorney General, Madison, WI, for Defendant-Appellee.
On July 3, 2003, the Highway J Citizens Group ("Citizens") filed this action pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-06; the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.; regulations implementing NEPA; and the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act ("WEPA"), Wis. Stat. § 1.11 & Wis. Adm.Code ch. TRANS § 400 et seq. The named defendants were Norman Mineta, in his official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation ("U.S.DOT"); Frederick Wright, in his official capacity as Executive Director of the Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA"); and Thomas E. Carlsen, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation ("WDOT") (collectively "defendants").1
Citizens challenged the Ackerville Bridge/Lovers Lane Project, Project # 2748-01-00 ("Ackerville Bridge Project") and the County J/Highway 164 Project, Project # 2748-01-01 ("County J/Highway 164 Project"). According to the complaint, a "contamination plume" containing arsenic and trichlorethylene ("TCE") is migrating toward the site of the Ackerville Bridge. Among other things, Citizens asked the district court (1) to enjoin the FHWA and WDOT from proceeding with the Ackerville Bridge Project until the location and extent of the contamination plume was determined, (2) to order the FHWA and WDOT to pump grout around the perimeter of pilings that have been driven into the ground to support the Ackerville Bridge, and (3) to require the FHWA to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") for the Ackerville Bridge Project. On June 12, 2003, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied Citizens' motion for a preliminary injunction and then ruled against Citizens on the merits. On June 13, 2003, the district court denied Citizens' expedited motion for stay pending appeal.
Citizens filed its notice of appeal on June 17, 2003. It then asked this court for an emergency injunction to prevent the opening of the Bridge. This court denied the requested relief, but granted Citizens' motion for an expedited appeal. In this appeal, Citizens seeks (1) a permanent injunction requiring closure of the Ackerville Bridge until grout is pumped around the pilings, (2) an EIS of the Ackerville Bridge Project, and (3) a revised EIS of the County J/Highway 164 Project that encompasses the area of the Ackerville Bridge Project and a permanent injunction prohibiting the County J/Highway 164 Project from proceeding until the revised EIS is completed. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we must deny Citizens the requested relief and affirm the judgment of the district court.
There are two projects at issue in this case; both are "major federal action[s]" as defined in 40 C.F.R. § 1508.18. Highway J Citizens Group is an unincorporated association of residents of Waukesha and Washington Counties in Wisconsin who are "committed to preserving the beauty, tranquility, and environment of the area." R.1 at ¶ 1. Specific to this litigation, Citizens also includes persons "who live in the area of the proposed Ackerville bridge and whose water supply is threatened with contamination from arsenic and TCE as a result of the proposed Ackerville bridge project." R.1 at ¶ 1. Thus, Citizens' focus in this case is Project # 2748-01-00, the Ackerville Bridge Project. Project # 2748-01-01, the County J/Highway 164 Project, is relevant to this litigation only because Citizens believes that it was improperly segmented from the Ackerville Bridge Project.
1. The Ackerville Bridge Project (Project # 2748-01-00)
There are three purposes for the Ackerville Bridge Project. The "primary purpose" is to address safety considerations flowing from the layout of the roads and the close proximity of the railroads. R.38, Ex.1003, A.R. at 00004. Another purpose is to bring the existing facility into compliance with State Trunk Highway standards, which govern the necessary requirements for a road to support truck traffic. Id. at 00013. A "secondary purpose" is to provide for future expansion of the roadways due to increasing traffic in the region. Id. at 00004. To affect these purposes, the plan provides
an overpass structure ... to be built at the Wisconsin Central Limited and the Wisconsin Southern Railroads in order to remove the existing at-grade crossings. The Sherman Road/Fond du Lac Drive connection would also be located under this structure. An additional overpass would be provided at State Highway 175.
Id. at 00012.2
The environmental assessment ("EA") for this Project was signed by various state and federal officials between October 29, 1999, and December 12, 1999, and was open for public comment from February 22, 2000, to April 7, 2000. Id. at 00004. The EA as originally published did not contain a discussion of the former waste disposal facility ("landfill") near the Project that was owned by Waste Management Company of Wisconsin, Inc. This landfill is located about 2,000 feet northwest of Ackerville and is leaking "landfill leachate" which has contaminated the underlying groundwater that flows from the landfill. As the contaminated groundwater flows, the contamination can spread or disperse, and this dispersed contamination is known as "contamination plume."
The effect of this contamination plume on the Ackerville Bridge Project was brought to the attention of the defendants by Jeffrey Gonyo, a member of Citizens, sometime during, and possibly before, February of 2000. R.38, Ex.1013, A.R. at 00838 (Wade e-mail); R.38, Ex.1005, A.R. at 00146-00147 (draft "Fact Sheet/Topics of Interest"). Defendants' initial conclusion was that the contamination plume did not raise significant concerns in relationship to the Ackerville Bridge Project. For example, in a February 21, 2000 document entitled "Fact Sheet/Topics of Interest," defendants stated:
&#x2022; The Waste Management Landfill-Hazardous Materials. If there is contamination in the shallow groundwater, couldn't the structure pilings create a "channel" to contaminate [sic] the deep groundwater where our drinking water comes from?:
&#x2022; Acknowledge that both Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and WDOT are aware of the concerns relating to the Polk Landfill. You can thank Mr. Gonyo for helping to bring the issue to the forefront.
&#x2022; WDOT will be addressing the contaminant concerns relating to the STH 164 project as part of the Phase 1 hazardous materials assessment. The assessment will evaluate [W]DNR documents about the landfill and assess what impact may be associated with the highway project activities. The WDOT will coordinate with the WDNR as needed. The report will include any recommendations that may be needed to address [hazardous materials] concerns.
&#x2022; The Phase 1 Assessment Report will become a public document available for review.
&#x2022; Though preliminary assessment of available information has led [sic] both [W]DNR and WDOT to think there are not likely to be significant project hazmat concerns related to the Polk Landfill, it would be premature to make definitive statements until the Phase 1 report is completed.
R.38, Ex.1005, A.R. at 00143-00144 (italics in original). A previous, draft version of that document, dated February 15, 2000, addressed the environmental question posed as follows:
&#x2022; This landfill was closed in the 1980's. Since that time, extensive monitoring and remediation has taken place. There has been some concern regarding the ground water contamination spreading in the direction of Lovers Lane Road. However, the project requires limited excavation in the area (footing for substructure units of the bridge) and encounters with ground water is unlikely.
R.38, Ex.1008, A.R. at 00146. In a March 14, 2000 letter from Ken Wade, Hazardous Materials Engineer for the Environmental Team, Transportation District 2 of WDOT, to EMCS Design Group, Mr. Wade noted:
I've attached copies of the latest landfill data collected by Waste Management. It clearly confirms that the concentration of [TCE] nearest the project area is decreasing and stable. The groundwater monitoring well nearest the project corridor is TW23R, located approximately 400 feet west of CTH J. TCE concentrations in well TW23R have dropped from 3 to 2.2 ug/l, well below the WDNR groundwater enforcement standard of 5 ug/l.
The water table for this region is approximately 30 feet below the ground surface. If construction plans for the footings require only 4 to 5 feet of excavation, it is very unlikely that contaminated groundwater will impact the project.
It is also unlikely that project pilings or water detention/infiltration basins will cause an impact on plume movement or concentrations.
R.38, Ex.1009, A.R. at 00728.
At the March 23, 2000 public hearing on the Ackerville Bridge Project, Mr. Gonyo testified in opposition to the Project. Among other things, he identified the landfill as a source of contamination that the Project threatened to aggravate. With the aid of numerous exhibits, he testified that: (1) the Project goals could be accomplished by simpler and less costly means, (2) the Ackerville Bridge Project should not be segmented from the County J/Highway 164 Project, and (3) the landfill contaminants pose great risks in conjunction with the Project.
On April 7, 2000, the "Hazardous Materials Site Investigation Report Phase I Addendum" ("Addendum") was released. R.38, Ex.1015, A.R. at 00709-00714. This Addendum was prepared by the EMCS Design Group, which worked in connection with the WDNR in developing the report. The Addendum is based on a review of the March 30, 1990 report entitled "Two-Year Ground Water Monitoring Report Polk Sanitary Landfill Washington County, Wisconsin." This report discusses the groundwater around the landfill, including its flow, contains maps and discussions of arsenic and TCE, and concludes that the landfill was not the source of downgradient TCE detections or elevated arsenic levels. R.38, Ex.1000, A.R. at 02774-02814. The 2000 Addendum is also based on a review of the "Phase I and Phase II Hazardous Material reports," R.38, Ex.1014, A.R. at 00873-00908, which "were completed in 1994 for this project based on" the originally conceived limited scope of the Project, which did not include a bridge. R.38, Ex.1015, A.R. at 00710. The "February 23, 1994 Phase I Report" identified groundwater in the area as potentially contaminated and noted that WDNR was continuing to monitor it. It added, "The groundwater depth should be determined within the project limits so that excavation to the groundwater depth during construction can be avoided." R.38, Ex.1014, A.R. at 00876. In the Addendum, the landfill is addressed as follows:
Site 7 (previous): Town of Polk/Waste Management (WDNR FID # 267062400) was identified in the original phase I report as an inactive waste disposal site. There is groundwater contamination in this area with [TCE] being one of the contaminants. The closest monitoring well is located approximately 400 feet west of STH 164. TCE concentrations in this well have dropped from 3 to 2.2 ug/l, well below the WDNR groundwater enforcement standard of 5 ug/l. This site is 700 feet west of where the proposed Foxboro extension connects to STH 175 and indicated groundwater depths of 30 feet are well below the excavation limits of the roadway. Therefore, it is very unlikely that the contaminated groundwater will impact this project. It is also unlikely that the pilings for the structure supports or retention basins will cause an impact on plume movements or concentrations.
R.38, Ex.1015, A.R. at 00714.
On April 25, 2000, the last signature was placed on the "Finding of No Significant Impact" ("FONSI") for the Project. The FONSI was premised on the EA for the Project, which was attached to the FONSI. The final EA/FONSI contains a "Basic Sheet A" which includes the comments from the public on the Project and defendants' responses to the comments. Specifically, Basic Sheet A considers whether the landfill "is a significant impact and therefore warrants preparation of an EIS," but concludes the landfill "will not affect the Department's proposed project." R.38, Ex.1003, A.R. at 00005. It explained:
There is ground water contamination in the area surrounding the landfill with [TCE] being one of the contaminants. This site has been under remediation for several years. The closest monitoring well is located approximately 122 m (400 ft) west of STH 164. TCE concentrations in this well have dropped from 3 to 2.2 ug/l, well below the WDNR groundwater enforcement standard of 6 ug/l. Indicated ground water depths of 9m (30 ft) are well below the excavation limits of the roadway or bridge construction. The Department has determined that the potential for encountering and impacting hazardous materials during construction of this project does not exist. Therefore, there is no purpose or need for preparation of an EIS.
Id. The EA/FONSI also responded to Citizens' suggestion that the Ackerville Bridge Project and the County J/Highway 164 Project be joined together as one EIS. After considering the three criteria for segmentation set out in FHWA regulations, see 23 C.F.R. § 771.111(f)(1)-(3), it concluded that "the selected alternative has logical termini, independent utility, and does not preclude or exclude future alternatives for other projects. It is therefore appropriate that [the Ackerville Bridge Project] be allowed to stand on its own merit." Id. at 00004. The EA/FONSI also considered alternatives, including the alternative proposed by Citizens, but concluded that the best alternative to effectuate all of the purposes of the Project includes the Ackerville Bridge. Id. at 00006, 00013.
On July 7, 2000, Mr. Gonyo sent a letter to Paul Tufts, an environmental specialist at the FHWA, requesting that the defendants reconsider the FONSI and that an EIS be prepared before any construction on the Project. This letter specifically notes as a concern that "the pilings will have to be driven into and below the contaminated groundwater table." R.38, Ex.1017 at 2. According to the defendants, Richard Madrzak of the FHWA requested information from Jay Waldschmidt of the WDOT, Bureau of Environment, to respond to Mr. Gonyo. R.29 at 10. During their oral conversation, Mr. Waldschmidt discussed previous conversations with Chad Czarkowsi and Phil Fauble of WDNR, and then Mr. Madrzak asked to have something in writing. Id.
On August 22, 2000, the WDNR provided the WDOT a memorandum, per the request of Mr. Waldschmidt, in response to the groundwater concerns. R.38, Ex.1020, A.R. at 12294. The authors of the memo are Chad Czarkowski and Phil Fauble, both of whom have extensive experience with groundwater issues with WDNR. This 2½ page, single-spaced memo has as its main conclusion that "the road project will not have any substantial effect [sic] on the existing pattern of groundwater flow, concentration of contaminants, nor cause any increase in health risks due to ground water contamination in the vicinity." Id. at 12295. In support of that conclusion, the memo noted that
[t]he TCE seems to originate from a point approximately 1500 feet west / northwest of Hwy 164 and Sherman Road. Groundwater flow has been determined to be southeasterly from the apparent source, towards the proposed road project. The top of the water table in the gravel aquifer below the road project area is approximately 30 feet below the land surface.
Id. As to the concentrations of TCE, the memo stated that in the mid-1980s, area wells had been tested for TCE, and levels exceeded Wisconsin's enforcement standard of 5 ug/l. Id. However, the landfill "is not considered a likely source of the TCE plume because TCE has not been detected in either the landfill leachate or consistently in monitoring wells directly adjacent to the landfill." Id. The memo further noted that the private wells determined to be at risk from the waste disposal sites were sampled in the 1980s, and they were subsequently either abandoned altogether, abandoned and replaced with "deeper dolmite aquifer wells cased to the top of the first bedrock at 220 feet," or sampled and found clean. Id.
Finally, the memo considered three mechanisms by which the project could conceivably affect groundwater in the vicinity. The one relevant to this appeal is: "Driving pilings to depths greater than 30 feet could potentially encounter contaminated groundwater." Id. at 12296. On this issue, the memo concluded that
such vertical steel pilings would not, in themselves, contribute any additional contaminants to the groundwater, nor significantly alter flow along any horizontal plane. Theoretically, the flow of groundwater could be altered along vertical lines due to penetration of a piling thru lenses or layers of dense, clay-rich soil known as "confining layers" or aquatards. Such layers, if present, normally act to prevent downward or upward movement of groundwater. A piling might compromise a confining layer by creating a narrow (0.5"-3" maximum) concentric space along the outside shaft of a piling or casing.
However, we believe the placement of pilings will not significantly affect ground water conditions on this project. As documented by well logs and soil borings, there is no effective, continuous confining layer in the project area. Without any effective separation of the shallow sand and gravel aquifer from the deeper dolomite aquifer, ground water already moves freely along vertical planes. In fact, several well nests near the proposed project record consistent upward gradients, an indication that deeper aquifer water is discharging into the shallower system. The relatively small increase in vertical groundwater movement which might be expected along open spaces surrounding even several dozen pilings is insignificant compared to the quantity of natural vertical movement.
In conclusion, there does not appear to be any mechanism by which the existing groundwater conditions will be significantly altered by the road project.
Id. at 12296-12297. On August 23, 2000, Mr. Madrzak sent an e-mail to Paul Tufts, the addressee on Mr. Gonyo's letter requesting reconsideration of the FONSI, discussing the August 22, 2000 memo:
Attached for your information is a copy of DNR's response to my request through Jay Waldschmidt for information regarding Mr. Gonyo's allegation that the project will have a significant effect on the environment with regard to hazardous materials.
The DNR note confirms the information contained in the revisions to the Environmental Assessment. The FONSI remains valid despite Mr. Gonyo's objections. We will respond accordingly to his request for FHWA to withdraw approval of the FONSI.
His other concerns regarding segmentation are adequately discussed in the revisions to the EA.
R.11, Ex.5 (attached e-mail). On August 24, 2000, the FHWA sent a letter to Mr. Gonyo responding to his July 7, 2000 letter. In accord with Mr. Madrzak's e-mail, this letter concludes that the April 2000 FONSI/EA remains valid and meets the intent and requirements of NEPA.
Citizens expressed its concerns to the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("U.S. EPA") in various petitions in the first five months of 2000, and on August 28, 2000, the WDNR sent a letter to Jan Pels of the U.S. EPA explaining its conclusions regarding the extent of the contamination plume and the Project's effect on the plume. R.38, Ex.1023, A.R. at 10166-10171. The letter concluded that "[t]here is no evidence that existing private water supply wells are being impacted by groundwater." R.38, Ex.1023, A.R. at 10171. As to the Project, it stated in full: "The WDNR has also determined that the proposed WDOT road expansion and bridge project on STH 164 will not have an adverse impact on the ground water in the Ackerville area. The rationale for this determination is detailed in the attached memo from WDNR to WDOT." Id. On January 12, 2001, the U.S. EPA sent Mr. Gonyo a letter regarding his request for an investigation of the Waste Management landfill. The letter stated that the WDNR is in the process of "preparing a Sampling and Analysis Plan for a [Site Inspection] of the Old Town Dump site." R.38, Ex.1024, A.R. at 10164-10165. This "Old Town Dump site" is a landfill just south and across the tracks from the Waste Management landfill, and the WDNR and U.S. EPA believed this landfill may be the actual source of the contamination. Id. at 10164.
On January 22, 2001, John E. Thresher, Jr., Citizens' groundwater expert, provided Fauble with criticisms of WDNR's groundwater analysis at the Waste Management landfill. This report discussed the extent and source of the TCE, concluding a "reasonable case can be made" the Waste Management landfill is the source. R.39, Ex.1025, A.R. at 12301-12304, 12307-12308. It als