Opinion ID: 776160
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Wetlands EIS

Text: 80 Plaintiffs argue that the WEIS failed to assess the cumulative impacts of actions other than the proposed acquisition, failed to address the impacts on groundwater resources adequately, and impermissibly segmented the water rights acquisitions for the Stillwater wetlands from the conservation plan for managing the wetlands.
81 Plaintiffs argue that the Service failed to analyze the cumulative impacts of Section 206 acquisitions together with all the other reasonably foreseeable Settlement Act actions affecting allocations for the Newlands Reclamation Project and the wetlands. According to Plaintiffs, the purchase of water rights for Pyramid Lake fish, recoupment, the TROA, and OCAP revisions are among the actions that should have been assessed cumulatively. Plaintiffs contend that the lengthy list of impacts provided by the Service cannot substitute for the required analysis. For example, the Service failed to state the full amount of agricultural land that would be lost upon implementation of all relevant Settlement Act provisions, not just Section 206(a). The magnitude of combined potential agricultural losses, according to Plaintiffs, would be staggering. The WEIS also failed to quantify the cumulative effects of acquisitions for the wetlands and for cui-ui recovery. As for the TROA, Plaintiffs maintain that the WEIS did not address the foreseeable negative impacts on the cui-ui, which may well prompt acquisition of more Newlands Project water rights. That fact would likely have significant implications for the wetlands acquisitions. 9 Plaintiffs further maintain that, while the Service acknowledges that the cumulative effects of implementing the Settlement Act are likely to adversely impact groundwater recharge in the Lahontan Valley, it did not analyze or quantify the extent of the problem. 82 Defendants must do more than just catalogue relevant past projects in the area. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea v. United States Dep't of Transp., 123 F.3d 1142, 1160 (9th Cir. 1997), quoted in Muckleshoot Indian Tribe v. United States Forest Serv., 177 F.3d 800, 809-10 (9th Cir. 1999). The EIS must also include a `useful analysis of the cumulative impacts of past, present and future projects.'  Id. This means a discussion and an analysis in sufficient detail to assistthe decision-maker in deciding whether, or how, to alter the program to lessen cumulative impacts. Id. Thus, in Muckleshoot, we did not find the cumulative effects sections in the EIS to be adequate because they provided only very broad and general statements devoid of specific, reasoned conclusions.  177 F.3d at 811. Merely indicating the amount of land to be exchanged, for example, and whether the land would be subject to commercial harvest, followed by an optimistic conclusion fell short of the useful analysis we required when the EIS contain[ed] no evaluation whatsoever of the impact on natural resources of timber harvesting on the lands transferred to Weyerhaeuser, nor any assessment of the impact on surrounding areas of such harvesting. Id. 83 The Service contends that it did consider the potential loss of Newlands Project land under each of the five alternatives discussed in the WEIS but that to look beyond the acquisition proposal to the cumulative effects on agricultural lands resulting from other Settlement Act actions would be pure speculation. The Service disputes Plaintiffs' assertions about the potential total amount of agricultural losses, although it does not suggest any alternative estimates. The Service did explain in the WEIS, however, that several forthcoming agreements or actions could possibly make it unnecessary to acquire any Truckee River water rights. Specifically, the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement, OCAP adjustments, the TROA, and the water rights acquired for the wetlands, individually or in combination, could well reduce the amount of agricultural losses. Under these circumstances and given these uncertainties, we do not find the absence of an estimate of the total reduction in agricultural acreage arbitrary or capricious. 84 We have reviewed Chapter 4 of the WEIS, in which the Service analyzed the environmental consequences of the action alternatives. The Service first considered the impacts of the alternatives on the Newlands Project operations and infrastructure, water resources, vectors, erosion, agricultural pests, air quality, wetlands, vegetative communities, fish, birds, agriculture, farmland, the local economy, recreation, population characteristics, land use, land values, property taxes, municipal services, social values, and Indian trust assets and cultural resources. The WEIS then examined the cumulative effects on environmental resources in the study area from past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions or activities, including the relevant provisions of the Settlement Act (both Titles I and II). The WEIS identified the following actions or activities: (1) acquisition of water rights for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Reservation agricultural lands (Section 102); (2) closure of the TJ Drain (Section 106); (3) negotiation of the TROA (Section 205(a)); (4) the comprehensive management plan for the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge (Section 206(b)); (5) Fallon Naval Air Station studies of land-management options to reduce water use for aircraft safety purposes (Section 206(c)(3)); (6) transfer of Carson Lake and pasture to the State of Nevada for use as a wildlife refuge (Section 206(e)); (7) recovery plans for endangered and threatened Pyramid Lake fish (Section 207(a)); (8) recoupment of water diverted from the Truckee River in excess of amounts permitted by the OCAP during the period from 1973 to 1987 (Section 209(j)); (9) possible adjustments to the 1988 OCAP (Section 209(j)(2)); (10) the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement; (11) the expansion of Fallon Naval Air Station as the Navy relocates various operations to this location; (12) the effects of predicted growth and diversification of Churchill County; (13) the effects of the transfer of the Indian Lakes area, consisting of approximately 9,355 acres, to Churchill County and, subsequently, to the City of Fallon (Section 206(g)); (14) acquisition of 20,000 acre-feet of water rights in the Carson Division to the primary wetlands; and (15) agricultural production. 85 In each of the fifteen subsections identified in the WEIS, the Service discussed the predicted impacts and provided its best assessment of what might happen and how the Service and other agencies would likely respond. In addition, the Service summarized the potential cumulative impacts of the above actions and activities if the preferred alternative were not selected, then summarized the potential impacts of the actions and activities if the Service adopted the preferred alternative. Under the preferred alternative, the Service predicted that agricultural production would be significantly adversely affected. The Service stated unequivocally in the Unavoidable Adverse Effects section that the preferred alternative was expected to cause unavoidable adverse impacts on the agricultural economy, agricultural-dependent wildlife, and farm preservation values of community members, ultimately changing the very character of the community with the completion of the water rights acquisition program. In short, the WEIS recognized that agricultural interests would bear the brunt of the Settlement Act directives. 86 Plaintiffs have pointed out errors and missing information in the WEIS. We could certainly fly-speck this chapter of the WEIS and find instances where the inclusion of quantitative data would benefit the Service and the public. As with the programmatic EIS discussed above, if we were preparing the WEIS, we might insist on additional detail. That is not our role, of course. Rather, we review the legal sufficiency of the WEIS. We conclude that the Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the requisite hard look at the cumulative environmental impacts of the action alternatives and has not violated NEPA.
87 Plaintiffs argue that the WEIS failed to address adequately the impacts that the acquisitions would have on groundwater resources. They contend that the Service relied on studies that either established existing conditions without analyzing the possible impacts or called for additional studies due to incomplete understanding of the hydrologic system. In response to comments on the draft WEIS regarding this analytical deficiency, the Service acknowledged this fact ([t]he Service concurs that the existing groundwater reports do identify a need for further study of the groundwater resources) and encouraged local interests to support funding the studies that the U.S. Geological Service proposed. WEIS at 6-105. 88 As the Service notes, the studies on which it relied were not definitive, but it never represented that they were. The studies were sufficient, however, to permit the Service to make a reasoned decision as to which action alternative to select. Notably, the Service reviewed existing studies regarding groundwater aquifers in Churchill County and sponsored new studies of the groundwater in the area. One of these studies (Seiler & Allander) used existing and newly drilled observation wells to locate the principal recharge areas for the shallow groundwater aquifer in Churchill County. As the Service explains, this study enabled it to analyze the acquisitions potential groundwater impacts from different locations in the Carson Division. 89 The second study, the Maurer Report, developed a conceptual model of the entire groundwater system in the Carson Division and surrounding area. According to the report, the three factors that affected groundwater recharge were the area from which the Service acquires the water rights, seepage from the Newlands Project distribution system, and consumptive use by crops. The Service used Maurer's model to analyze the potential impacts of each of the action alternatives. Recognizing the limits of the study, the Service was nevertheless able to make an informed decision. 90 Additional studies undoubtedly would fill in relevant details regarding groundwater resources under each of the action alternatives. Nonetheless, the Service relied on current information, not outdated studies or technology. We conclude that the WEIS provides a reasoned analysis of the impacts on groundwater consistent with the requirements under NEPA. 91
92 Plaintiffs argue that the WEIS should have covered the water rights acquisitions for the wetlands together with the conservation plan that dealt with management of the wetlands. According to Plaintiffs, these components were interrelated and segmenting analysis of the environmental impacts was not consistent with NEPA. However, other than list the possible ways that the management plan might affect the water rights acquisition plan, Plaintiffs do not show that the Service acted arbitrarily or capriciously. 93 AFFIRMED.