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Keywords

lawsuitdefendantenvironmental lawcomplianceendangered species act

defendantmotionsummary judgmentmotion for summary judgment

Related Cases

Mount Graham Coalition v. Thomas, 53 F.3d 970, 40 ERC 1851, 25 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,904

Facts

In 1984, the University of Arizona proposed the construction of telescopes on Mount Graham, which is the last habitat of the endangered red squirrel. The Forest Service began preparing an Environmental Impact Statement and identified High Peak as the preferred location. However, after modifications to the proposal, the University sought to build on Peak 10,477, which was not included in the original biological opinion. The Forest Service approved this site without conducting formal consultation under the Endangered Species Act or preparing a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, leading to the coalition's lawsuit.

In 1984, the University of Arizona, leading an international consortium, proposed to the United States Forest Service the construction of several telescopes on Mount Graham in the Coronado National Forest in southeastern Arizona.

Issue

Did the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act provide the Forest Service with the authority to approve the construction of the large binocular telescope at a site other than that specified in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative without complying with the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act?

The AICA does not provide the FS with the authority to select a site for the LBT at a site other than that indicated in the 1988 biological opinion prepared by the FWS without complying with the requirements of the ESA and NEPA.

Rule

The Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act does not exempt the Forest Service from complying with the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when selecting a site for construction that is not specified in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative.

The AICA does not provide the FS with the authority to select a site for the LBT other than that indicated in RPA 3 Figure A without complying with the ESA and NEPA.

Analysis

The court analyzed the provisions of the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act and determined that it did not grant the Forest Service the discretion to select a site for the telescope that was different from the one indicated in the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative. The court emphasized that the Act's language clearly limited the exemption from compliance with environmental laws to the specific sites identified in the biological opinion, and that the Forest Service's approval of Peak 10,477 violated these requirements.

The court's findings of fact are reviewed for clear error.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's ruling, concluding that the Forest Service lacked the authority to approve the telescope's location at Peak 10,477 without adhering to the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

We affirm because we conclude that the AICA does not provide the FS with the authority to locate the LBT at a site other than that indicated in the 1988 biological opinion prepared by the FWS without complying with the requirements of the ESA and NEPA.

Who won?

The coalition of environmental groups prevailed in the case because the court found that the federal defendants had violated environmental laws by approving the telescope's location without proper consultation and analysis.

The court granted the Coalition's motion for summary judgment and declared that the federal defendants had violated section 7 of the ESA, 16 U.S.C. § 1536, 'by failing to pursue formal consultation before approving the relocation of the [LBT]' and section 102 of the NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4332, 'by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement … before approving the relocation of the LBT.'

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