Opinion ID: 326393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: consideration of the peripheral canal's environmental impact.

Text: 19 Appellants concede the merit of any attempt to save public funds by interagency coordination and cooperation. They argue, however, that such cooperation cannot circumvent the clear intent of NEPA's EIS requirement that all ramifications of each proposed federal project significantly affecting the environment be considered at the earliest possible time prior to commencement of actual construction. 20 Nor, is it asserted, can linking commencement of an environmentally hazardous project to completion of an environmentally unobjectionable one be allowed to circumvent the EIS requirement for the former. Since the excavations proposed for the highway fill will also be part of the canal watercourse, they argue that the time for EIS consideration of both projects is now, before excavation commences. 21 As the district court properly noted, there are limits to the required scope of consideration of one project which may be remotely connected with, or have some effect upon, another. The proper test, we believe, does not depend upon the interrelation of the projects per se. Rather it depends upon whether completion of one project will inevitably involve an irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources to the second. NEPA § 102(2)(C)(v), 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C)(v). See Scientists' Institute for Public Information v. AEC, 156 U.S.App.D.C. 395, 481 F.2d 1079 (1973), noted in 87 Harv.L.Rev. 1050, 1055-56 (1974). 4 22 Scientists' Institute, the leading case analyzing NEPA's irreversible commitment language, held that an EIS had to be submitted prior to commencement of a massive research and development program for breeder reactors. The court looked to the nature of the contemplated research and development program, which involved test projects and massive expenditures for the development and improvement of nuclear energy technology. The court concluded that the decision to go ahead with the R & D phase of AEC's proposed program would also effectively commit the agency to that program's subsequent implementation phase. Given the long lead time generally associated with the development of energy resources, the decision to implement the program's first phase would in reality foreclose reliance upon alternative energy sources to satisfy additional demand for energy in the future. 23 Appellants contend that this case falls within the Scientists' Institute rationale. They claim that the cut and fill specifications of the highway project would involve excavation of one-third of the canal's watercourse. 5 Excavations of this magnitude would, they argue, seriously influence the decision in favor of completion of the remainder of the canal. Hence, unless environmental review of the canal project is had now, commitments will have been made by the time the canal project comes up for formal approval which will make completion of the watercourse a foregone conclusion. 24 We are not convinced that any such consequences would necessarily follow. In the first place, the highway project EIS noted that contingent plans had been made for use of the excavation sites should the canal fail to be approved for any reason. Substantial evidence was submitted that the excavations could stand on their own as successful and useful fish hatcheries, and that conditional agreements had been reached by which they would be utilized as such. 6 25 Secondly, even if the excavations are allowed to proceed, the public and Congress will have full opportunity to evaluate the wisdom of the contemplated water transfer scheme before it takes place. It is true that, should the canal project eventually be approved, construction would be able to proceed more economically and expeditiously because of the earlier decision to act in coordination with the highway project. But we do not believe that this brings the Scientists' Institute rationale into play. The resources committed to the canal project by the proposed highway fill excavations would have been spent on the highway project in any event. In fact, evidence was introduced that the canal site constituted the cheapest source of highway fill available. 7 26 More importantly, since an EIS will be required before any work on the canal beyond the highway fill excavations can be done, requiring the statement now would serve no useful purpose, but would delay the highway project considerably. We are reluctant to accord to NEPA an interpretation which would have the sole effect of discouraging agency cooperation of the sort involved here. 27 While appellants may be correct that the presence of the excavations will most likely determine the path of the Peripheral Canal, if it is built, we do not find in this a sufficiently significant nexus to the highway excavations to warrant linking the two projects for EIS purposes. The environmental issues involved in carrying out the contemplated water transfer are likely to be of far greater significance than those concerning the route over which this transfer would occur. 28 Since the canal is to be only 43 miles long, with relatively fixed termini, there is little room for variation in the actual route chosen. Cf. Iowa Citizens for Environmental Quality, Inc. v. Volpe, 487 F.2d 849, 853 (8th Cir. 1973). And, as previously discussed, if any significant environmental advantage should appear in selecting a different route, the alternative use agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game would go into effect. 29 The construction of I-5 is nearing completion, after much time and great expense. The proposed 17-mile segment involved here will leave, when completed, only a 23-mile gap remaining before the California portion is complete. The massive nature of the commitments to I-5 already made afford additional support, we believe, to our decision to uphold the district court's refusal to countenance further delay. Cf. Citizens Environmental Council v. Volpe, 484 F.2d 870, 873 (10th Cir. 1973). 30 Hence we agree with the district court's conclusion that the highway and canal projects should stand by themselves for purposes of environmental review. Cf. Trout Unlimited v. Morton, supra, 509 F.2d at 1285. We uphold the district court's ruling that the highway project EIS satisfied § 102(2)(C), and affirm its order denying injunctive and declaratory relief.