Opinion ID: 4466387
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Environmental Impact Statement for the AAF

Text: Project Complied with the Requirements of NEPA Finally, Appellant contends that the EIS prepared for the Project does not comply with the requirements of NEPA. Appellant argues that the EIS did not take a “hard look” at the effects of the Project on public safety; that it did not adequately disclose and mitigate safety risks to trespassers cutting across the tracks at locations other than at legal grade crossings; and that it did not sufficiently analyze the noise impacts caused by both the higher speeds of the freight trains on the improved tracks and the train horns at grade crossings. The record belies these claims. The Supreme Court has emphasized that “inherent in NEPA and its implementing regulations is a ‘rule of reason.’” Dep’t of Transp. v. Pub. Citizen, 541 U.S. 752, 767 (2004) (citation omitted). This standard “ensures that agencies determine whether and to what extent to prepare an EIS based on the usefulness of any new potential information to the decisionmaking process.” Id. “NEPA does not impose a duty on agencies to include in every EIS a detailed explanation of specific measures which will be employed to mitigate the adverse impacts of a proposed action.” Mayo, 875 F.3d at 16 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). And once an agency has taken a “hard look” at “every significant aspect of 29 the environmental impact” of a proposed major federal action, it is not required to repeat its analysis simply because the agency makes subsequent discretionary choices in implementing the program. Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 462 U.S. 87, 97 (1983) (quoting Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978)). In sum, the Supreme Court has made it clear that we must give deference to agency judgments as to how best to prepare an EIS. See Robertson, 490 U.S. 332. As the District Court’s decision shows, the environmental review process conducted by FRA was thorough and it complied fully with the commands of NEPA. The District Court aptly noted that “[a]gency action is rarely perfect. But NEPA does not demand perfection. Instead, it requires that an agency take a ‘hard look’ at the reasonably foreseeable impacts of a proposed major federal action. The extensive Final EIS, appendices, common responses, and Record of Decision together demonstrate that FRA met that requirement here.” Indian River Cty., 348 F. Supp. 3d at 61-62. We agree. As noted above, FRA prepared an EIS, covering more than 600 pages, examining the environmental impacts of the Project. J.A. 1635-2574. This process also included multiple public meetings and opportunities for public comment. Id. at 2559-74. In September 2014, FRA released a draft EIS and received more than 15,400 comments from a wide range of stakeholders. The public commentary was then considered by FRA when it prepared the Final EIS. Id. at 2569. In early August 2015, the Final EIS was released. Id. at 1667. The EIS examines the Project’s impacts on land use, transportation, navigation, air quality, noise and vibration, farmland soils, hazardous material disposal, coastal zone 30 management, climate change, water resources, wild and scenic rivers, wetlands, floodplains, wildlife habitat, threatened and endangered species, social and economic effects (including impacts on low-income communities), public health and safety, parks, and historic properties, as well as the Project’s cumulative impacts when combined with other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions. See id. at 1635-2574. The EIS also sets forth a host of mitigation measures to ameliorate those negative impacts. Id. The EIS additionally includes a thorough discussion of pedestrian safety, at both formal and informal crossings. And it examines and discusses mitigation of risks to pedestrians, including those using informal crossings. With respect to formal crossings, the EIS relies on a survey of every grade crossing on the rail corridor. This survey was conducted by FRA’s Office of Safety, Highway Rail Crossing and Trespasser Program Division, and it includes an accompanying analysis summarized in engineering reports which are included in the