Description: Challenge to inclusion of high-speed rail project in California’s first update to the Climate Change Scoping Plan.
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Transportation Solutions Defense & Education Fund v. California Air Resources Board
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/15/2017 Ruling Download Petition denied. California Court Rejected Claims That Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with High-Speed Rail Delays Invalidated Scoping Plan Update for Achieving AB 32 Goals. A California Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Scoping Plan Update prepared in 2014 pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) and the environmental analysis conducted for the 2014 Update pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The court ruled that the petitioner, Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund (TRANSDEF), had not exhausted its administrative remedies because it had not raised certain comments related to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions that would result from changes to and delays in California’s high-speed rail project, one of the emissions reduction measures relied upon in the Scoping Plan to achieve AB 32’s goals. The court found, moreover, that TRANSDEF had not shown the existence of a significant impact associated with the delay in construction. The court said that TRANSDEF had made “very little attempt” to quantify the increase in greenhouse gas emissions associated with the delay. The court also noted that high-speed rail was only one of many measures CARB proposed in the Scoping Plan update to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The court also found that TRANSDEF had not established that CARB abused its discretion by not responding to comments. In addition, the court concluded that CARB’s approval of the Scoping Plan Update did not violate AB 32, even if the high-speed rail component of the plan would result in a short-term increase in greenhouse gas emissions during its construction while delays in construction meant that emissions reductions from the operations of high-speed rail would not offset the temporary increase by 2020. 10/18/2016 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Amended petition for writ of mandate filed. 08/24/2016 Ruling Download Ruling issued. -
Transportation Solutions Defense & Education Fund v. California Air Resources Board
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/20/2014 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Petition for peremptory writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief filed. Petitioner challenged the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) approval of the First Update to the Climate Change Scoping Plan (Update) and CARB’s certification of a program-level environmental assessment for the Update. Petitioner claimed that CARB violated both the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). In particular, petitioner alleged that CARB had failed to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the high-speed rail project included in the Update, that CARB violated CEQA procedures, and that inclusion of the high-speed rail project violated AB 32.