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contractlawsuitinjunctionhearingcorporation
contractinjunctionappealcorporationcompliancedeclaratory judgment

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Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Ass’n v. Morrison, 67 F.3d 723, 41 ERC 1688, 26 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,065, 95 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7590, 95 Daily Journal D.A.R. 12,963

Facts

The dispute arose after the Forest Service canceled a 50-year timber sales contract with the Alaska Pulp Corporation (APC) due to the closure of APC's pulp mill, which resulted in the opening of the harvest area to bids from other lumber companies. Following the cancellation, the Forest Service planned to offer the timber previously reserved for APC for sale to other companies without conducting a new environmental impact statement (EIS) or public proceedings, which led to the lawsuit from environmental groups seeking an injunction.

Following the early termination of a 50–year contract with the Alaska Pulp Corporation (“APC”), the Forest Service opened the harvest area to bids from other lumber companies.

Issue

Did the Forest Service violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) by failing to reconsider land use alternatives and conduct public proceedings after the cancellation of the long-term timber contract?

Forest Service's failure to reconsider land use alternatives in supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) and in public notice and proceedings under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was not reasonable after cancellation of contract broadened Forest Service's range of alternatives.

Rule

Under NEPA, federal agencies must prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, including consideration of reasonable alternatives. ANILCA requires evaluation of the effects of land use on subsistence resources and mandates public notice and hearings for significant restrictions on subsistence uses.

NEPA requires federal agencies to file an environmental impact statement (“EIS”) before undertaking “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”

Analysis

The court determined that the cancellation of the APC contract significantly altered the range of alternatives available to the Forest Service, which necessitated a new or supplemental EIS. The Forest Service's previous EISs were deemed inadequate because they were primarily driven by the contract requirements, and the cancellation opened up new alternatives that had not been considered. The court held that the Forest Service's failure to hold public proceedings and reconsider alternatives was not reasonable under NEPA and ANILCA.

The Forest Service's decision not to proceed with an SEIS did not, as it maintains, reflect an assessment of the effects of the APC contract termination on the environment. Rather, the decision involved an assessment of the effects of the termination of the contract on the EIS process.

Conclusion

The court vacated the district court's judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings to balance the equities regarding the continuation of the preliminary injunction against the Forest Service's timber sales.

We vacate and remand to the district court to conduct a balancing of the equities to determine whether the preliminary injunction now in force should continue pending the Forest Service's compliance with NEPA and ANILCA, or to fashion an injunction as it deems appropriate.

Who won?

The prevailing party was the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association and other environmental groups, as the court found that the Forest Service had not complied with NEPA and ANILCA requirements.

The Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association, the Organized Village of Kake, the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Wilderness Society (“Alaska Wilderness”) appeal the district court's denial of their request for an injunction and declaratory judgment against the United States Forest Service.

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