Opinion ID: 889473
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Issue Three: Did the District Court commit reversible error when it voided the preliminary plat?

Text: ¶ 47 Finally, Aspen Trails challenges the District Court's decision to void the preliminary plat. First, it argues that the District Court impermissibly considered the testimony of Cerquone and substituted its judgment for that of the Commission by concluding that the Commission failed to consider the high groundwater in the area of the subdivision and whether storm water run-off could pollute the Prickly Pear Creek. Aspen Trails argues the Commission did consider these impacts on groundwater and mitigated this impact by restricting the construction of houses with basements. Aspen Trails asserts that surface pollution impacts were addressed and mitigated with the requirement of a city-approved storm water drainage plan. ¶ 48 Aspen Trails further argues the District Court had no basis to determine that the EA was inadequate and that the actions of the Commission were unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious. Aspen Trails, relying on Citizens, suggests a less stringent standard of review for an EA prepared under the MSPA than the standard utilized by the District Court. It argues that an EA simply needs to provide information sufficient to allow a review of the proposed subdivision pursuant to the MSPA and that the amount of information required will vary from case to case. See Citizens, ¶ 19. Here, Aspen Trails argues the EA satisfied this standard because it identified possible impacts from the subdivision and proposed adequate mitigation of those impacts. Aspen Trail contends that adequate information about pollution from storm water drainage and impacts to the Prickly Pear Creek and groundwater was presented in the EA, and that the District Court erred in determining the EA was inadequate. ¶ 49 Aspen Trails further argues the District Court erred when it voided the preliminary plat. Aspen Trails contends it should be given an opportunity to present additional information to the Commission if required, and offer measures to mitigate the impacts instead of having the preliminary plat voided outright. For these reasons, Aspen Trails argues the District Court's decision should be reversed. ¶ 50 Landowners argue the District Court did not commit reversible error by voiding the Commission's approval of the preliminary plat. First, Landowners contend that under Skyline Sportsmen's Assn. v. Bd. of Land Commsrs., 286 Mont. 108, 951 P.2d 29 (1997), the District Court properly considered the testimony of Cerquone at the evidentiary hearing in order to evaluate the adequacy of the EA. The Landowners further argue the District Court properly concluded that the EA did not comply with the requirements of the MSPA, in that it failed to adequately describe the groundwater resources and failed to provide required information about the probable impacts of the subdivision on groundwater and surface water pollution. Landowners argue that no data about groundwater depth was provided, even though the Commission was aware of extremely shallow groundwater in the project area. Landowners also point out that the EA did not include groundwater information from an available U.S.G.S. report even though § 76-3-603(1)(a), MCA, requires that all available information on groundwater be included. Landowners further argue that the EA is inadequate because it does not contain any information about nonpoint source water pollution impacts on the Prickly Pear Creek, Lake Helena, or the shallow aquifer beneath the project site. In this connection, Landowners argue that the restrictive covenants fail to include mandatory measures that protect water quality. ¶ 51 The Landowners further contend that the District Court did not err in considering whether the Commission took a hard look at the EA. Landowners assert this standard was recently applied in Clark Fork Coalition, and that the District Court appropriately relied upon it by determining that the Commission was required to take a hard look at groundwater and pollution impacts resulting from the creation of over 300 new homes in areas of shallow groundwater adjacent to the Prickly Pear Creek. ¶ 52 Finally, Landowners contend that the remedy provided by the District Court, the voiding of the preliminary plat, was proper in this case under Citizens. Landowners argue that the MSPA does not confer a right on Aspen Trails to go back to the Commission and propose new mitigation measures. While Aspen Trails certainly has the right to submit an application for another preliminary plat before the Commission, the District Court's decision to void the preliminary plat was not in error. ¶ 53 As an initial matter, we conclude that the District Court did not err when it conducted an evidentiary hearing and received additional evidence concerning the adequacy of the EA. As we stated in Skyline Sportsmen's Assn., The standard of review of an informal administrative decision is whether the decision was arbitrary, capricious, or unlawful. North Fork Pres. v. Dept. of State Lands (1989), 238 Mont. 451, 458-59, 778 P.2d 862, 867. It was appropriate for the District Court, in applying that standard, to accept new evidence and not to limit its review to the administrative record. In a proceeding to determine whether an agency decision was arbitrary, capricious, or unlawful, unless the reviewing court looks beyond the record to determine what matters the agency should have considered, it is impossible for the court to determine whether the agency took into consideration all relevant factors in reaching its decision. Asarco, Inc. v. U.S.E.P.A. (9th Cir.1980), 616 F.2d 1153, 1160. Skyline Sportsmen's Assn., 286 Mont. at 113, 951 P.2d at 32. ¶ 54 Second, we find no error in the District Court's conclusion that the Commission had to apply the hard look standard to the EA in this case. In Clark Fork Coalition, this Court considered a district court's review of an agency decision of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), authorizing a mining company to discharge water into the Clark Fork River. Clark Fork Coalition, ¶ 1. The Court said the agency must take a hard look at the environmental impacts of a given project. Clark Fork Coalition, ¶ 47. The district court's review of the DEQ's decision was whether it was arbitrary and capricious, or unlawful, Clark Fork, ¶ 21, the same standard of review applicable here. Thus, the hard look standard is to be utilized by the reviewing government bodyhere, the Commission and it is then up to the District Court to determine whether that hard look was in fact taken. ¶ 55 The governing body considering an application for a preliminary plat must consider the impact on agriculture, agricultural water user facilities, local services, the natural environment, wildlife and wildlife habitat, and public health and safety. . . . Section 76-3-608(3)(a), MCA; see also Citizens, ¶¶ 20-21. Section 76-3-603, MCA, sets forth the contents for an EA under the MSPA. It reads as follows: Contents of environmental assessment. When required, the environmental assessment must accompany the subdivision application and must include: (1) for a major subdivision: (a) a description of every body or stream of surface water that may be affected by the proposed subdivision, together with available ground water information, and a description of the topography, vegetation, and wildlife use within the area of the proposed subdivision; (b) a summary of the probable impacts of the proposed subdivision based on the criteria described in 76-3-608; and (c) a community impact report containing a statement of anticipated needs of the proposed subdivision for local services, including education and busing; roads and maintenance; water, sewage, and solid waste facilities; and fire and police protection; and (d) additional relevant and reasonable information related to the applicable regulatory criteria adopted under 76-3-501 as may be required by the governing body; (2) except as provided in 76-3-609, for a minor subdivision, a summary of the probable impacts of the proposed subdivision based on the criteria described in 76-3-608. ¶ 56 We conclude that the District Court did not err in concluding that the Commission's approval of the preliminary plat was unlawful for failure to provide available groundwater information as required under § 76-3-603(1)(a), MCA, and arbitrary and capricious for failure to consider surface pollution impacts created by the subdivision. The EA noted that ground water in the project area ranged from 2 to 10 feet; however, a U.S.G.S. report on the shallow groundwater, as well as information from test wells, was not presented in the EA. The Landowners' expert Cerquone testified that the high groundwater in the project area needed to be studied in detail. Indeed, the Planning Board recommended rejection of the preliminary plat due to the high groundwater in the area. As the District Court noted, the EA simply does not provide available information on the high groundwater, and was inadequate with regards to potential impacts to both the groundwater and the Prickly Pear Creek. For instance, without knowing the specific depth of groundwater throughout the project site, Aspen Trails could conceivably place sewer pipes directly in the groundwater. The Commission, in approving the preliminary plat, had no way to evaluate whether or not this would occur, and what the resulting impacts would be, since the EA did not provide all available information regarding the groundwater. Accordingly, the District Court correctly concluded that the paucity of information regarding groundwater information prevented the Commission from taking a hard look at these impacts. ¶ 57 Similarly, we conclude the District Court did not err in determining that the Commission's decision to approve the preliminary plat without an assessment of impacts on groundwater and the Prickly Pear Creek from surface pollution was arbitrary and capricious. The EA did discuss the use of storm water ponds to control run-off. However, as stated by the District Court, Everyone agrees that the EA must summarize probable impacts to the environment. All witnesses agreed that the construction of 300+ homes in this subdivision will result in increases in herbicides, pesticides, and other household materials in the area. Given the extremely high groundwater in this area, the nature of this possible pollution of the groundwater and its possible tie-in with Prickly Pear Creek should at least have been summarized and discussed in the EA. ¶ 58 Finally, we cannot conclude that the District Court's decision to void the preliminary plat was erroneous. In Citizens, we reversed a district court's decision to affirm a preliminary plat which had been approved by the Sanders County Board of County Commissioners. We did so based on our determination that the board had acted unlawfully in approving the plat. Citizens, ¶ 26. The District Court's remedy in this case is consistent with Citizens and the MSPA itself.