Court Opinion

ID: 9671867
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:44:05.62765+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:12.519779
License: Public Domain

ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.
¶ 296. (dissenting). Employing the mantra of great weight deference, the majority defers to the Public Service Commission (PSC) in all respects. Yet, an agency's conclusion is not entitled to great weight deference if it directly contravenes the plain meaning of a statute or its own administrative rules.
¶ 297. This court is burdened with the task of ensuring that the PSC's process meets the statutory and regulatory demands. Because the agency's conclusions regarding the adequacy of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are contrary to the basic requirements of both the PSC's own rules and the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA), I conclude that no deference is due. Rather, I determine that the *431PSC's decision to approve the project based on an inadequate EIS was in error.
¶ 298. The proposed Oak Creek Power Plant (OCPP) would be the largest power plant construction project in this state's histoiy. Many of the briefs filed in this case, either challenging or supporting the decision of the PSC, are filed on behalf of those parties who have substantial financial interests in the project. One brief, however, stands alone.
¶ 299. The State of Illinois has filed a brief on behalf of its citizens because it recognizes that the project's effect would not respect state boundaries. Inevitably, any harm caused by the project to Lake Michigan and its fishery would necessarily affect Illinois residents as well.
¶ 300. The State of Illinois shares my conclusion that the EIS is inadequate. Citing federal regulations, Illinois asserts that an EIS is expressly required to "present the environmental impacts of the proposal and the alternatives in comparative form, thus sharply defining the issues and providing a clear basis for choice among options by the decisionmaker and the public." 40 C.F.R. § 1502.14.
¶ 301. Although voicing concerns about the failure of the EIS to consider alternative sources of energy that would reduce mercury emissions, a primary focus of the State of Illinois is the project's proposed cooling system. This type of system has been banned in Illinois for more than 30 years. The State of Illinois charges that the PSC has "declined to conduct even the most basic inquiry into alternatives to the environmentally-destructive cooling system proposed by the applicant, to which Illinois has found alternatives for more than three decades ...." In concluding its argument, it asserts that both Illinois and Wisconsin citizens are *432"entitled to an EIS that gives full consideration to cooling technologies that will reduce damage to their shared Lake Michigan resource." I agree.
¶ 302. Accordingly, while I believe that the majority opinion in many regards is flawed, I focus upon the inadequacy of the EIS prepared in this case. In its decision, the majority applies a great weight deference standard of review and rubber-stamps the PSC's acceptance of the EIS. The majority explains that its "determination that the EIS was adequate is reasonable." Majority op., ¶ 226.
¶ 303. I am mindful of the narrow scope of permissible judicial review here. However, an agency's interpretation of a statute or regulation cannot be upheld if it is inconsistent with its plain meaning:
A court does not ... give deference to an agency's interpretation of a statute when the court concludes that the agency's interpretation directly contravenes the words of the statute, is clearly contrary to legislative intent, or is otherwise unreasonable or without rational basis.
State ex rel. Parker v. Sullivan, 184 Wis. 2d 668, 699-700, 517 N.W.2d 449 (1994) (citing Lisney v. LIRC, 171 Wis. 2d 499, 506, 493 N.W.2d 14 (1992)).
¶ 304. I conclude that the PSC's decision to accept the EIS was contrary to the plain language of the law. The EIS (1) failed to adequately evaluate the proposed action's cumulative environmental effects and (2) failed to adequately evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
I. The EIS
¶ 305. As noted by the majority, WEPA is patterned after its federal counterpart, the National Envi*433ronmental Policy Act (NEPA). Majority op., ¶ 188 n. 42.1 The object of both statutes is to ensure that agencies carefully consider environmental impacts before committing to undertake certain "major" actions. State ex rel. Boehm v. DNR, 174 Wis. 2d 657, 665, 497 N.W.2d 445 (1993); Simmons v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 120 F.3d 664, 666 (7th Cir. 1997). To this end, the statutes require agencies to prepare an EIS on actions that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Wis. Stat. § 1.11(2)(c); 42 U.S.C. § 4332(c).
¶ 306. The purpose of the EIS is to enable agencies to take a "hard look" at the environmental consequences of its proposed action. Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club v. DHSS, 130 Wis. 2d 56, 72, 387 N.W.2d 245 (1986) (citing New York Natural Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. Kleppe, 429 U.S. 1307, 1311 (1976)). This "hard look" is necessary in order to inform the "commission and the public of significant environmental impacts of a proposed action and its alternatives, and reasonable methods of avoiding or minimizing adverse environmental effects." Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(1).
¶ 307. To fulfill its function, "the EIS must set forth sufficient information for the general public to make an informed evaluation, and for the decisionmaker to 'consider fully the environmental factors involved and to make a reasoned decision after balancing the risks of harm to the environment against the benefits to be derived from the proposed action.'" Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 701 F.2d 1011, 1029 (2d Cir. 1983) (citations omitted). "In so doing, the EIS insures *434the integrity of the process of decision by giving assurance that stubborn problems or serious criticisms have not been 'swept under the rug.'" Id.
¶ 308. This "hard look" requirement "sets a high standard for the agencies, a standard which must be rigorously enforced by the reviewing courts." Calvert Cliffs' Coordinating Comm., Inc. v. U.S. Atomic Energy Comm'n, 449 F.2d 1109, 1114 (D.C. Cir. 1971). If an agency's "decision was reached procedurally without individualized consideration and balancing of environmental factors — conducted fully and in good faith — it is the responsibility of the courts to reverse." Id. at 1115. Indeed, courts have not hesitated to invalidate an EIS that fails to include the requisite level of discussion and analysis.2
II. The Failure To Evaluate Cumulative Effects
¶ 309. One of the more controversial aspects of the project is its proposed cooling system, a type banned by both Illinois and Indiana. See, e.g., 35 Ill. Adm. Code 302.509; 327 IAC 2-1.5-8(c)(4)(D)(v)(AA). The system uses cold water from Lake Michigan to cool steam after it passes through the electric turbine, so that the steam *435condenses to water and can be fed back into the coal-fired boiler to be converted back into steam. Because the cold water would be used only once before being piped back to Lake Michigan, the system is known as "once-through" cooling.
¶ 310. The drawback of the once-through cooling system is that it has the potential to cause large-scale destruction of aquatic life. The system functions by taking in vast amounts of water on a continuing basis. Here, the proposed facility would, together with the existing units, suck in approximately 2,250,000 gallons per minute, i.e., 3.24 billion gallons per day. Experts in this case testified that the massive water intake required for once-through cooling would result in the wholesale destruction of millions of fish and other aquatic life.
¶ 311. For instance, fish eggs and larvae passing through the fine filter screens to the power plant's condensers could suffer a mortality rate as high as 97 percent.3 Likewise, larger fish would be killed or fatally injured through impingement when they are pressed against the filter screens by the force of the intake. Even with mitigating measures in place, "[t]he proposed once-through cooling system will result in the annual destruction of tens of millions of fish, crustaceans and shellfish by entrainment and impingement."4 The aquatic environment of Lake Michigan will be forever altered.
¶ 312. The minimum content of an adequate EIS includes the proposed action's cumulative environmental effects. Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(3) requires in relevant part that an EIS contain:
(b) An analysis of the probable impact of the proposed action on the environment, including:
*4361. An evaluation of positive and negative effects on the affected local and regional environments, including the proposed action's direct, indirect and cumulative environmental effects.
(Emphasis added.)
¶ 313. Likewise, WEPA clearly mandates that the EIS contain a "detailed statement" of:
1. The environmental impact of the proposed action;
2. Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented.
Wis. Stat. § l.ll(2)(c)l&2.
¶ 314. Here, after sparse discussion, the EIS dismisses cumulative effects of once-through cooling as "inconsequential" to the ecosystem of Lake Michigan. It notes:
relative to the Lake Michigan fishery, the impacts of entrainment and impingement were inconsequential to aquatic life in Lake Michigan.
(Emphasis added.)
¶ 315. This conclusion, however, was not based on a current analysis of Lake Michigan and the proposed water intake system. Rather, it was based on a 1975-76 monitoring study of the Lake and the then existing water intake system of the power plant. There are two problems with reliance on this study.
¶ 316. First, Lake Michigan's ecosystem has changed significantly in the last 30 years. For example, there are 36 new nonindigenous species that have been first observed in Lake Michigan since 1976. Nat'l Oceanic & Atmospheric Admin. Great Lakes Envtl. Resarch Lab., Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species List (May 27, 2003). Available at http://www.glerl.noaa. gov/res/Programs/invasive/ansmechofintro052703.html. *437The EIS does not take into account the significant changes to the ecosystem.
¶ 317. Second, the proposed cooling system is substantially different and much more ambitious than the one examined in the 1970s. Its intake system, extending almost two miles into Lake Michigan, would be ten times longer than the original structure. Moreover, the total exposure width of the proposed system would be more than twice that of the original system.5 The estimated 3.24 billion gallons of water consumed each day represents a 183% increase over the consumption considered in the 1975-76 study.6 Again, the EIS fails to consider these substantial differences.
*438¶ 318. In an attempt to curb the criticism for reliance on a study conducted almost 30 years ago, the majority quotes from the EIS1 reference to a 2003 report. Majority op., ¶ 201. In doing so, the majority attempts to substitute an interim report of data collection for the mandated evaluation of the environmental impact of the aquatic life.
¶ 319. The interim 2003 report describes the data compiled during the first year of a two-year study. It is narrow in scope and limited to counting fish eggs and larvae in the vicinity of the existing and proposed structures.
¶ 320. The report fails to consider the impact of entrainment and impingement on tens of millions fish, crustaceans, and shellfish. Indeed, the report offers no conclusion whatsoever as to the environmental impact of the proposed structure. This interim data collection report of an incomplete study falls short of providing a "hard look" at the environmental consequences of the proposed action.
¶ 321. In light of these shortcomings, there was no adequate evaluation of the "proposed action's direct, indirect and cumulative environmental effects" as re*439quired by Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(3). Absent from the EIS is any "detailed statement" of the "environmental impact of the proposed action" as mandated by WEPA. By relying on outdated and incomplete studies, the EIS failed to assess the future cumulative environmental effects of this proposed action. As such, the PSC's decision to accept the EIS contravened the basic requirements of the PCS's own rules and WEPA.
III. The Failure To Evaluate Reasonable Alternatives
¶ 322. In contrast to the proposed once-through cooling system, two available alternative cooling technologies, "cooling towers" and "dry cooling," would reduce water intake by 90 percent or more.7 The former operates by continuously circulating a limited amount of water, drawing in more only as necessary to replace the water that evaporates in the cooling process. The latter, meanwhile, uses even less water, operating on the same principle as an automobile radiator.8
¶ 323. Analysis of alternatives is "the heart of the environmental impact statement." Milwaukee Brewers, 130 Wis. 2d at 73. Accordingly, the minimum content of an adequate EIS includes an evaluation of the reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
¶ 324. Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(3)(c) requires in relevant part:
*440(c) An evaluation of the reasonable alternatives to the proposed action and significant environmental consequences of the alternatives, including those alternatives that could avoid some or all of the proposed action's adverse environmental effects and the alternative of taking no action.
(Emphasis added.)
¶ 325. Likewise, WEPA mandates that the EIS contain a "detailed statement" of "[alternatives to the proposed action." Wis. Stat. § l.ll(2)(c)3.
¶ 326. Additionally, the water intake structure must satisfy the requirements of the Clean Water Act, which requires that "the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact." 33 U.S.C.A. § 1326(b) (emphasis added).
¶ 327. While an agency is not required to evaluate "the environmental consequences of alternatives it has in good faith rejected as too remote, speculative, or ... impractical or ineffective," All Indian Pueblo Council v. United States, 975 F.2d 1437, 1444 (10th Cir. 1992), "[t]he existence of a viable but unexamined alternative renders an environmental impact statement inadequate." Resources Ltd., Inc. v. Robertson, 35 F.3d 1300, 1307 (9th Cir. 1994).
¶ 328. Here, the EIS failed to evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed once-through cooling system that would greatly reduce harm to aquatic life in Lake Michigan. Instead, the EIS merely states that measures should be taken to mitigate the harm that would be caused, and that additional studies of entrainment and impingement should be conducted after the system has been built.
*441¶ 329. As one aquatic life expert indicated, this approach amounts to closing the barn door after the horse has left. After all, once an open-cycle cooling system is allowed, there is very little that can be done to significantly reduce its harm to the aquatic environment. The expert explained, "It is my opinion that there are few options to protect lake life from an offshore intake of the size proposed and that these options are further restricted if implementation is attempted after design and completion of construction."9
¶ 330. When asked by several entities10 why the EIS failed to discuss any alternatives to environmentally-destructive once-through cooling system, the EIS writers both acknowledged and defended this complete failure. They explained:
Once-through cooling water and closed-cycle cooling are commonly used cooling alternatives. WEPCO has proposed to use once-through cooling water for the ERGS. The Clean Water Act does not prohibit the use of once-through cooling water, nor does it compel anyone to use closed-cycle cooling. DNR does not have the authority to require closed-cycle cooling for this project.
¶ 331. There are two problems with this explanation. First, it is illogical. The conclusion that one need not address the common alternative of closed-cycle cooling because the DNR does not have the authority to require it is a non sequitur. Second, and more importantly, it is against the clear language of the PSC's own rule and WEPA.
*442¶ 332. Absent from the EIS is the required evaluation of:
alternatives, including those alternatives that could avoid some or all of the proposed action's adverse environmental effects....
Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(3) (c).
¶ 333. Likewise, missing from the EIS is a "detailed statement" of "[alternatives to the proposed action." Wis. Stat. § l.ll(2)(c)3.
¶ 334. The majority proceeds to whitewash this inadequacy by construing "the EIS's writers' response as concluding that cooling towers are not a reasonable alternative due to the DNR's inability to require them." Majority op., ¶ 205. It then explains, "[g]iven that the PSC is best situated to determine what constitutes a reasonable alternative, we cannot conclude that the PSC's determination that this analysis is reasonable lacks a rational basis." Id.
¶ 335. Contrary to the assertions of the majority, there is nothing unreasonable about closed-cycle cooling. This would not require the authors of the EIS to engage in "remote and speculative analysis." Id. Indeed, many other power plants have also been using cooling towers for decades, including the last coal-fired plant that Wisconsin Energy Corporation built, Pleasant Prairie. Tellingly, the EIS writers themselves described closed-cycle cooling as a "commonly used ... alternative[]."11
¶ 336. As such, the EIS needed to evaluate these alternatives, along with their significant environmental *443consequences. Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 4.30(3)(c). This analysis, of course, need not be extraordinarily detailed. However, "more than nothing was required." Utahns For Better Transp. v. U.S. Dept. of Transp., 305 F.3d 1152, 1166 n. 6 (10th Cir. 2002), modified on other grounds, 319 F.3d 1207 (10th Cir. 2003).
¶ 337. Instead of evaluating these alternatives, however, the PSC asserts that the proposed water intake structure is the "best technology available." Again, citing to the 1975-76 monitoring study conducted in conjunction with permits related to the original power plant, the PSC states:
The report concluded .... [”]The impact on the environment must be considered to be minimal." In an April 15, 1977 letter to Wisconsin Electric Power Company, the Department [of Natural Resources] concurred with this conclusion. The Department has not evaluated this conclusion since 1977.
¶ 338. I agree with the State of Illinois that the PSC has "declined to conduct even the most basic inquiry into alternatives to the environmentally-destructive cooling system proposed by the applicant . . . ." The relevance of the 1975-76 study to the proposed project is tenuous at best. It certainly cannot *444be viewed as a thorough analysis of what represents the "best technology available" for the proposed site, as required by the Clean Water Act. 33 U.S.C.A. § 1326(b).
¶ 339. In the end, the EIS provides but a fleeting consideration of the environmental impact of the proposed water intake system, and no consideration whatsoever of the reasonable alternatives. Therefore, the PSC's decision to accept the EIS was contrary to the requirements of its own administrative rules and WEPA. Accordingly, I conclude that no deference is due.
¶ 340. I recognize that this project is important for southeast Wisconsin and the state as a whole. Yet it is also critically important to the citizens of this state that the process approving the project adheres to the requirements of law. Because the PSC decision to accept the EIS was in error, this court should reverse the agency's decision and remand to the PSC for the mandated evaluations.
¶ 341. I am authorized to state that Chief Justice SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON joins this dissent.

 As a result, federal NEPA case law is an essential source of guidance regarding the proper implementation of WEPA, constituting highly relevant persuasive authority. State ex rel. Boehm v. DNR, 174 Wis. 2d 657, 676 n. 4, 497 N.W.2d 445 (1993).

 See, e.g., League of Wilderness Defenders v. Forsgren, 309 F.3d 1181, 1191-92 (9th Cir. 2002) (EIS failed to consider impacts of pesticide drift outside target spray area); Utahns For Better Transp. v. U.S. Dept. of Transp., 305 F.3d 1152, 1179-80 (10th Cir. 2002), modified on other grounds, 319 F.3d 1207 (10th Cir. 2003) (highway project's impacts to migratory birds); Muckleshoot Indian Tribe v. U.S. Forest Serv., 177 F.3d 800, 810-11 (9th Cir. 1999) (impacts of land exchange); City of Carmel-By-The-Sea v. U.S. Dept. of Transp., 123 F.3d 1142, 1160-61 (9th Cir. 1997) (cumulative impacts of highway); Town of Huntington v. Marsh, 859 F.2d 1134, 1140-43 (2d Cir. 1988) (effects of discharge to Long Island Sound).

 Direct testimony of Dr. Peter A. Henderson. R. 18, Item 157 at 4287.

 Id at 4285.

 The original water intake system at OCPP consisted of eight pumps, divided equally between two pumphouses. The pumps, positioned 50 feet inland from the lakeshore, drew water from a 900-foot long, 200-foot wide, artificial channel in Lake Michigan. Each pumphouse was connected to the lakeshore via an intake structure fitted with mesh screens to prevent fish from being drawn into the water system. The width of these intakes effectively regulated the amount of water subject to intake. The width of the intake on the north pumphouse was 35 feet; on the south pumphouse, the width was 58 feet; the total exposure width of the system was thus 93 feet.
By contrast, the proposed water intake structure would be located up to 9,000 feet offshore, at a depth of 43 feet. The intake itself would be an array of 24 cylinders, each 8 feet in diameter and 32 feet long, connected to 27-foot diameter tunnel bored 200 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan. The total exposure width of the proposed system would be 192 feet, more than twice that of the original system analyzed in the 1976 study.

 The study relied on data collected from periodic sampling — 89 total samples over a one-year period — of the north pumphouse. WEPCO, Intake Monitoring Studies, at II-l (1976). The four pumps at this site were each rated at 110,000 gpm, with the four pumps at the south pumphouse rated at 198,000 gpm. *438Thus, the maximum volume of water intake at the existing OCPP structure was 1,232,000 gpm, or 1.77 billion gallons per day. Id. at 1-3.
The proposed water intake system would consist of three parts: the remaining OCPP units, originally the south pump-house; the two proposed SCPC plants; and the proposed IGCC plant. The remaining OCPP units are still rated to 792,000 gpm. The proposed SCPC plants would demand an estimated 970,000 gpm. Finally, the proposed IGCC plant would demand an additional 485,000 gpm. All totaled, the proposed ERGS water intake system would consume an estimated 3.24 billion gallons of water each day.

 Direct testimony of Dr. Peter A. Henderson. R. 18, Item 157 at 4298.

 The Great Lakes region hosts five dry-cooling stations: Olmstead County Waste-to-Energy Facility (1 megawatt in Rochester, MN); Chicago Northwest Waste-to-Energy Facility (1 megawatt); Arbor Hills Landfill Gas Facility (9 megawatts in Northville, MI); Pine Bend Landfill Gas Facility (6 megawatts in Eden Prairie, MN); and Mallard Lake Landfill Gas Facility (9 megawatts in Hanover Park, IL).

 Direct testimony of Dr. Peter A. Henderson. R. 18, Item 157 at 4314.

 The entities include Lake Michigan Federation, Citizens' Utility Board, and SC Johnson.

 Since oral argument in this case, Clean Wisconsin and SC Johnson have filed a lawsuit in the Dane County Circuit Court, challenging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issuance of a permit to operate the controversial once-through cooling system that would serve the proposed OCPP.
*443At a public hearing on that matter, Peter Howe, a biologist for the Environmental Protection Agency, submitted 22 pages of testimony expressing his serious reservations with the permit. "Testimony of Peter H. Howe in Objection to Conditions in Draft WPDES Permit No. WI-0000914-07-0," Prepared February 13, 2005, available at the Department of Natural Resources.
Howe noted that "all power plants built in the past 20 years of which [he was] aware use closed cycle cooling." Id. Additionally, Howe observed, "if cooling towers had been selected, we would not be having the following debate on entrainment, thermal or mercury...."