Opinion ID: 388147
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Adequacy of the Cost-Benefit Analysis

Text: 23 Landowners' major complaint is that the EIS failed to include an adequate discussion of the comparative costs and benefits associated with the alternative power line routes. First, we note that each alternative received equivalent treatment. The following information was provided for all five options discussed: a description of location and tower design; the length of the route; the cost; the right-of-way requirements; the access road requirement; the impact on national resources; the impact on cultural and socioeconomic resources; and the impact on significant resources. 2 Thus the EIS discussed the environmental costs and benefits associated with each of the alternative routes in some detail. Even though this information is not presented in a comparative form, it demonstrates that alternatives were explored in the initial decision-making process, and that those persons removed from that process had the opportunity to evaluate the alternatives. See Trout Unlimited, 509 F.2d at 1286. 24 The Landowners cannot, therefore, reasonably complain that Route E was not considered at all by the BPA in its determination of the best route, or that the consideration given Route E was more cursory than that given the proposed route and the other alternatives. Nor do the Landowners argue that the range of alternatives considered in the EIS was inadequate. Rather, they object to the absence of a formal comparison between the various alternatives such that anyone could determine which alternative is best. This objection amounts to two contentions. First, the Landowners argue that the BPA failed to employ a form of cost-benefit analysis known as the PERMITS system. Second, they contend that the EIS did not afford full disclosure of the environmental costs and benefits associated with the project because it failed to include an internal memorandum prepared by the BPA that compared Route E directly with Route D-1.