Conservation Law Foundation of New England v. Kline

No. 77-0015 P (D.R.I. November 13, 1981)

ELR Digest

The court holds that an environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the General Services Administration (GSA) for the sale of surplus government property in Rhode Island complies in most respects with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but must be supplemented with information on site-specific impacts. After noting that it must review the EIS under the "rule of reason," the court examines GSA's powers and duties under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) in relation to NEPA. It concludes that GSA is not authorized under the FPASA to impose restrictions on the future use of land sold at a publicly advertised or privately negotiated sale nor to select buyer for the land based on environmental factors rather than on financial benefit to the government.

The court notes that while NEPA requires federal agencies to minimize harm to the environment, the requirements of NEPA are not binding where there is a clear statutory conflict. It finds that such a conflict exists between NEPA and the FPASA and that therefore GSA is required to put financial concerns before environmental factors in choosing a purchaser of surplus real estate. In view of these factors, the court holds that GSA is not required to analyze specific proposals for land use from prospective buyers and may reasonably rely upon a "speculative" EIS that only considers possible land use alternatives. Since GSA lacks authority to restrict future use or to choose among prospective buyers based on environmental factors, a speculative EIS that permits a reasoned choice as to whether any sale is environmentally sound is reasonable. Furthermore, the speculative analysis in the EIS is adequate under NEPA.

However, the court holds that the EIS is defective in failing to consider the site-specific consequences of the sale of individual land parcels. There must be sufficient, although speculative, information about site-specific effects to enable GSA, the public, and other agencies to make a reasoned choice as to whether or not to dispose of individual areas. The EIS does not adequately discuss the environmental impacts of the use of certain areas for residential purposes or the impacts of the demolition of the abandoned housing located on specific property.

The court rules that the EIS adequately discussed the alternatives to public sale. Since the alternatives of imposing restrictive covenants was beyond GSA's authority and that of transferring property to the Department of Housing and Urban Development was not supported by that agency, these alternatives were not reasonable and did not require detailed exploration in the EIS. Next, the court notes that federal agencies may be required to supplement an EIS based on new information. It finds that GSA must obtain development plans from the party whose bid or private offer it plans to accept, and must then supplement the EIS if the buyer's plans reveal intended uses significantly different from any potential use anticipated by the EIS. Finally, the court rules that GSA has both the power under the FPASA and the duty under NEPA to consider refusing to consummate both private and public sales if, weighing environmental against financial concerns, sale to a particular buyer would not be in the public interest. The court enjoins sale or lease of the subject properties pending supplementation of the EIS to include information concerning environmental impacts of disposal on individual land parcels.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (66 pp. $8.75, ELR Order No. C-1287).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Sister Arlene Violet
70 S. Main St., Providence RI 02903
(401) 861-3290

Steven Stark
Conservation Law Foundation of New England
3 Joy St., Boston MA 02108
(617) 742-2540

Janet Robert
R.I. Legal Services, Inc., 19 Spring St., Newport RI 02840
(401) 846-2264

Counsel for Defendants
Everett Sammartino, Ass't U.S. Attorney
P.O. Box 1401, Providence RI 02901
(401) 528-4311

Dennis J. Roberts
Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Tucker
10 Dorrance St., Providence RI 02903
(401) 521-7000

Robert W. Lovegreen
Hinckley & Allen
2200 Industrial Bank Bldg., Providence RI 02903
(401) 274-2000

Pettine, C.J.

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]