Opinion ID: 22210
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mitigation Analysis

Text: 21 The Conservation Groups claim that the SEIS does not provide sufficiently detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation, disputing the Corps's assertion that the net and cumulative effect of the proposed work is zero because all unavoidable impacts of construction including the loss of wetland functions and values are being fully compensated through mitigation. The Groups contend that the administrative record does not support the SEIS's mitigation analysis and shows that mitigation efforts often fail for a number of reasons, including poor project design, inadequate monitoring, and a lack of adequate maintenance or remedial monitoring. Further, the Conservation Groups question whether the proposed mitigation will be implemented because the Corps already has a backlog of 27,249 acres of reforestation and mitigation in the district where another 5,200 acres of mitigation must occur for this Project. They contend that, if the mitigation is unsuccessful, the impact of the Project is much more adverse than the Corps concedes. Thus, they maintain that the SEIS does not satisfy NEPA. 22 The district court found that the Corps's SEIS fully complies with NEPA's mitigation requirements because it discusses the environmental impacts to terrestrial, wetland, waterfowl, and aquatic resources for each of the five alternatives for the Project. Under CEQ regulations, agencies must provide a discussion of actions that can be taken to mitigate adverse environmental impacts to guarantee that agencies have seriously contemplated the environmental consequences of proposed federal projects. As the district court observes, citing Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council, 109 S.Ct. 1835, 1847 (1989), there is a fundamental distinction, however, between a requirement that mitigation be discussed in sufficient detail to ensure that environmental consequences have been fairly evaluated, on the one hand, and a substantive requirement that a complete mitigationplan be actually formulated and adopted, on the other. 23 The Corps's mitigation analysis has produced a result that is not subject to reversal under an arbitrary and capricious standard of review. The SEIS identifies the unavoidable impacts to terrestrial, wetland, and waterfowl resources and formulates alternative measures to compensate for those losses, including the acquisition of in-kind land for compensation. The Conservation Groups make valid points in challenging the Corps's mitigation assumptions, arguing that the success of wetlands mitigation is questionable. 7 However, the Corps has conducted a serious and thorough evaluation of environmental mitigation options for the Project to allow its analysis to fulfill NEPA's process-oriented requirements, and thus to survive the arbitrary and capricious standard of review.