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Natural Resources Defense Council v. California Department of Transportation

Filing Date: 2009
Case Categories:
  • State Law Claims
    • State Impact Assessment Laws
Principal Laws:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Description: Challenge to approval of new expressway on grounds that greenhouse gas emissions impacts were not addressed.
  • Natural Resources Defense Council v. California Department of Transportation
    Docket number(s): B228048
    Court/Admin Entity: Cal. Ct. App.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    11/22/2011 Opinion Download Opinion issued. Several environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging California Department of Transportation’s approval of a new diesel truck expressway serving the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, alleging that the final environmental impact report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act did not, among other things, sufficiently address greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate change. The trial court denied the
    petition. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed, holding that the EIR adequately investigated and discussed the greenhouse gas impacts from the project, that the agency’s conclusion that the impacts would be “less than significant” was supported by substantial evidence, and that the agency was not required to make a quantitative analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in the EIR.

© 2023 · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law · U.S. Litigation Chart made in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The materials on this website are intended to provide a general summary of the law and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.