Opinion ID: 162330
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: mandating preparation of an eis

Text: 10 It is well-settled that the judiciary's role in the NEPA context is merely to ensure that the federal agency takes a hard look at the environmental consequences of its actions. See Kleppe v. Sierra Club, 427 U.S. 390, 410 n. 21, 96 S.Ct. 2718, 49 L.Ed.2d 576 (1976). The initial decision as to the necessity of an EIS is the agency's, not a reviewing court's. See Airport Neighbors Alliance, 90 F.3d at 429. Accordingly, a reviewing court normally remands when it finds an agency's decision not to conduct an EIS arbitrary or capricious. In rare circumstances, however, a remand is not appropriate. In Sierra Club v. Hodel, this court observed: 11 If the record before the agency does not support the agency action, if the agency has not considered all relevant factors, or if the reviewing court simply cannot evaluate the challenged agency action on the basis of the record before it, the proper course, except in rare circumstances, is to remand to the agency for additional investigation or explanation. 12 848 F.2d 1068, 1093 (10th Cir.1988) (emphasis added, quotation omitted), overruled on other grounds, Vill. of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque v. Marsh, 956 F.2d 970, 972 (10th Cir.1992) (en banc). Because FWS' delayed and inadequate compliance with NEPA and the ESA have helped to push the Silvery Minnow perilously close to extinction, and because the record contains overwhelming evidence of the environmental impacts of a critical habitat designation, this case represents one of the rare circumstances when a remand to the agency to conduct yet another EA is not appropriate. 13 FWS' compliance with NEPA and the ESA has been marked by massive delays and inadequate decision-making. Although the Silvery Minnow was listed as endangered in 1994, FWS did not designate critical habitat until this court ordered it to do so in 1999, four years after the 1995 deadline. See Forest Guardians, 174 F.3d at 1193. As this court noted in New Mexico Cattle Growers Ass'n v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, such delay by FWS is not uncommon. See 248 F.3d 1277, 1283 (10th Cir.2001). The critical habitat designation finally issued was denounced in the strongest terms by the district court: 14 [FWS has] failed to consider important aspects of the problem before them, were predisposed to their conclusions without a thorough examination of the facts or situation presented, in the designation of critical habitat for the silvery minnow have neglected to follow NEPA and ESA requirements, and have put forward a grossly inadequate explanation of their decision to designate the whole of the Middle Rio Grande as critical habitat.... The latter has only minimal factual and rational support in the record and [] fails to accord with what the Endangered Species Act intends or requires. The final rule must therefore be set aside. 15 Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Dist. v. Babbitt, 206 F.Supp.2d at 1193. FWS has not appealed the district court's decision setting aside the designation as arbitrary or capricious. FWS also failed its mandate under NEPA to determine if the designation would significantly affect the human environment. As the district court stated, [t]he finding of no significant impact contained in the [EA] does not represent a reasoned judgment. Id. at 1179. FWS likewise does not contest this conclusion on appeal. 16 These delays and irrational decisions come at the expense of the Silvery Minnow, officially endangered for nearly eight years. As FWS recognizes, damming, channelization, and the introduction of nonnative predatory fish have decimated the Silvery Minnow population. The Minnow currently occupies only five percent of its historic range. See Final Designation, 64 Fed.Reg. at 36,275. The species could be exterminated by a single naturally occurring chance event. Id. In 1996, when extreme drought conditions reduced the predicted Rio Grande flow to seventeen percent of normal, thirty percent of the entire population may have been lost. In an emergency measure, a large number of minnows trapped in isolated pools were moved upstream by tanker truck. It is clear that to fulfill the ESA's goal of halting and reversing the Silvery Minnow's decline, no matter the cost, FWS should designate critical habitat as soon as possible. Cf. Tenn. Valley Auth. v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153, 184, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978). 17 Furthermore, there is overwhelming evidence that the designation will significantly affect the quality of the human environment, requiring preparation of an EIS. The effects of the designation are two-fold: first, it will require pervasive changes in the distribution of Middle Rio Grande riverwater resulting in the reduction of irrigated agriculture acreage; second, it may require the curtailment of river maintenance activities resulting in decreased water transport efficiency and an increased risk of flooding. 18 The entire designation is Rio Grande riverbed which contains, or is capable of containing, three [p]rimary constituent elements. Final Designation, 64 Fed.Reg. at 36,279. These elements are: 19 Stream morphology that supplies sufficient flowing water to provide food and cover needed to sustain all life stages of the species; 20 Water of sufficient quality to prevent water stagnation (elevated temperatures, decreased oxygen, carbon dioxide buildup, etc.); and 21 Water of sufficient quality to prevent formation of isolated pools that restrict fish movement, foster increased predation by birds and aquatic predators, and congregate pathogens. 5 22 Id. The portion of the Rio Grande designated as critical habitat is heavily dammed and diverted, and the riverbed is often completely dry. Under current water management, isolated pools often form. The EA recognizes this in describing the Isleta reach of the Middle Rio Grande: [m]any extensive portions of [Isleta] reach ... are frequently isolated during summer and autumn months and eventually dry. San Acacia reach has more severe desiccation problems because of a lack of facilities returning diverted water back to the main channel. In dry years, the thirty eight mile stretch immediately below San Acacia Diversion Dam may be dry for two months or more. 23 The federal agencies charged with management of Rio Grande water are prohibited from taking or authorizing any action which diminishes the value of critical habitat for the survival or recovery of the Silvery Minnow. See 16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2) (requiring federal agencies to avoid any actions, or authorize any actions, which destroy or adversely modify critical habitat); 50 C.F.R. § 402.02 (defining adverse modification to be any action which diminishes the value of critical habitat for the survival or recovery of the species). Consequently, federal agencies are prohibited from taking or authorizing any action which deprives critical habitat of its primary constituent elements, those physical and biological features essential to the conservation of the species. See 50 C.F.R. § 402.02 (including adverse modification of constituent elements in definition of adverse modification of critical habitat). Because extensive reaches of the Middle Rio Grande are dry under current water management practices and do not contain [w]ater of sufficient quality to prevent formation of isolated pools, the designation will require the federal water managers to reallocate water for the Minnow's use. The draft Economic Analysis, 6 relied upon by FWS in conducting the EA, recognized that a primary effect of the designation would be to reduce the expenditure of federal funds used to make water available for municipal and agricultural uses. The Silvery Minnow Recovery Plan 7 recognizes that up to 200 cubic feet per second of water must be released into the San Acacia reach to maintain flowing water to provide suitable habitat. One commentator estimated that to provide that amount of water could require an additional 26,000 acre-feet of water per year. Other commentators to the Economic Analysis and the EA indicated that the designation may require anywhere from 35,000 to 188,000 acre-feet of additional water per year, depending on weather conditions. 24 The Middle Rio Grande is fully appropriated. Any reallocation of water will be at the expense of water users. The draft Economic Analysis and comments submitted to FWS indicated that a change in water management practices would result in a substantial reduction of irrigated farmland acreage. The estimates range from 2,000 acres to 85,000 acres. 25 A loss of irrigated agriculture is not the only possible effect of the designation. In response to a questionnaire from FWS, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) indicated it might curtail river management practices in response to the designation. Reclamation needs heavy machinery to perform the numerous tasks necessary to ensure swift water delivery and flood prevention. Reclamation indicated in its response to FWS that some of its activities might alter or damage Silvery Minnow habitat even if no individual species member was harmed. Thus, the designation may require Reclamation to adopt different design and construction techniques which may increase costs by as much as forty percent. Because Reclamation's budget may remain stable or decrease, the adoption of habitat-friendly maintenance techniques could result in the decrease of overall maintenance services. Reclamation estimated that the costs of such a curtailment of maintenance activities include reduced water transport efficiency and a heightened risk of failure of water transport systems and flood protections. The Economic Analysis relied upon by FWS conceded that Reclamation's curtailment of maintenance activities and corresponding water transport inefficiency could result in a loss of 5,800 acre-feet of water every year and would reduce flood protection. Commentators to the Economic Analysis and the EA emphasized the potential costs of more numerous flooding events. While FWS discounted in the EA the possibility of reduced maintenance activities, it recognized earlier in the Silvery Minnow Recovery Plan that current river maintenance practices have degraded the quality of Silvery Minnow habitat. 8 26 The evidence in the record thus demonstrates that the designation will result in a reallocation of water back into the riverbed and could result in a curtailment of river maintenance operations. The effects of these impacts, the loss of irrigated farmland and increased risk of flooding, however, only require preparation of an EIS if they significantly affect the quality of the human environment. See 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C). Human environment should be interpreted comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment and the relationship of people with that environment. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.14. Significance is determined by looking at both the context of the action and its intensity. Id. § 1508.27. 9 Effects or impacts include ecological, ... aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, social, or health effects. Id. § 1508.8. Economic and social effects alone, however, do not require preparation of an EIS. Id. § 1508.14. 27 The evidence in the record conclusively demonstrates that the effects of water reallocation and curtailment of river maintenance are significant. The reallocation of water to maintain the critical habitat and the accompanying loss of farmland are controversial. See id. § 1508.27(b)(4) (requiring determinations of significance to take into account the degree to which the effects of the action will be highly controversial). Controversy in the NEPA context does not necessarily denote public opposition to a proposed action, but a substantial dispute as to the size, nature, or effect of the action. See Wetlands Action Network v. United States Army Corps of Eng'rs, 222 F.3d 1105, 1122 (9th Cir.2000). The wide disparity in the estimates of water required for the designation, and the associated loss of farmland acreage, indicate that a substantial dispute exists as to the effect of the designation. Moreover, the context of the designation is such that its effects will be felt locally in the Middle Rio Grande valley. See 40 C.F.R. § 1508.27(a). Given the aesthetic, economic, ecological, and cultural value of agriculture to the region, even a loss of 2,000 acres of irrigated farmland is significant. Furthermore, the possible failure of flood protections presents a danger to public health and safety and thus is significant. See id. § 1508.27(b)(2) (requiring determinations of significance to take into account the degree to which the action will affect public safety or health). 28 FWS argues that notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence of environmental impacts associated with the previous critical habitat designation, the district court required it to propose a new designation, which may differ radically in scope and have fewer impacts on the human environment. FWS contends that it should be given another opportunity to determine in the first instance whether an EIS is needed for the new designation. We disagree. 29 Now that FWS has proposed a designation broader than the previous designation, its argument loses much of its force. The new proposed critical habitat designation contains the four reaches of the previous designation but adds a portion of the Lower Jemez River, a tributary of the Rio Grande joining the mainstem just south of Angostura Diversion Dam. See New Proposed Designation, 67 Fed.Reg. at 39,234. Just as the previous designation would result in significant environmental impacts, the broader proposed designation would as well. 30 Even if we review the district court's decision at the time it was made and ignore the new designation, FWS' argument is not persuasive. The district court could have concluded that any new critical habitat designation would contain the San Acacia reach of the Middle Rio Grande and therefore result in significant environmental impacts. A designation must include the geographical areas occupied by the species which contain features essential to the conservation of the species. See 16 U.S.C. § 1532(5)(A); 50 C.F.R. § 424.02(d)(1). Conservation is defined by the ESA as the use of all methods ... which are necessary to bring any endangered species ... to the point at which the protections of the ESA are no longer needed, i.e., recovery. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(3). Since upwards of seventy percent of the Silvery Minnow population 10 live in the San Acacia reach, the survival of the species would be threatened if the reach did not receive the special protections that come with designation as critical habitat. If the reach is necessary for the survival of the species, it also contains features necessary for the recovery of the species and must be included in any critical habitat designation. Cf. Sierra Club v. United States Fish & Wildlife Serv., 245 F.3d 434, 442 n. 50 (5th Cir.2001) (noting that survival is a necessary condition for recovery); see also 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(2) (requiring FWS to designate area as critical habitat if a failure to designate the area would result in the species' extinction). 11 31 As discussed, the San Acacia reach has the most persistent desiccation problems of any of the four reaches of the Middle Rio Grande. The Silvery Minnow Recovery Plan recognizes that 200 cubic feet per second of water needs to be reallocated to the San Acacia reach to provide suitable habitat for the Minnow. According to some estimates, this may require 26,000 acre-feet of water to be taken away from agricultural uses, resulting in a significant reduction in irrigated agriculture acreage. Moreover, Reclamation may be precluded from conducting river maintenance activities in the reach. The associated water loss and risk of flood protection failure significantly affect the human environment and mandate preparation of an EIS. 32 This court has recognized that the requirements of NEPA can further the objectives of the Endangered Species Act. See Catron County, 75 F.3d at 1436. This case demonstrates that the abdication of an agency's responsibilities under NEPA can frustrate the goals of the Endangered Species Act. FWS' delays and inadequate decisionmaking have resulted in the absence of a critical habitat designation eight years after the Silvery Minnow's listing. The protections of a designation are particularly needed by the Silvery Minnow, a species placed on the brink of extinction by habitat loss. Adherence to the policy objective of the ESA to halt the extinction of the minnow no matter the cost requires that NEPA compliance be completed as expeditiously, yet comprehensively, as possible. Allowing FWS the opportunity to conduct yet another EA, followed by an inevitable EIS, would not accomplish this. Our holding should not cast doubt on that general rule that the decision to conduct an EIS is committed to the administrative agency in the first instance. Given the unique circumstances of this case, however, the massive delays, the precarious position of the Silvery Minnow, and the overwhelming evidence of significant environmental impacts regardless of the size, shape, and location of the designation, the district court's order to conduct an EIS was not an abuse of discretion. 12