ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20024
No(s). 22-16613 (9th Cir. Feb 13, 2025)

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a challenge to the U.S. Air Force's decision to engage in hazardous waste disposal through open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) operations at Tarague Beach on Guam. A nonprofit group argued the Air Force failed to comply with its environmental review obligations under NEPA. The district court held the group lacked standing because its injury was not fairly traceable to to the Air Force's conduct, that the challenge was not ripe because the Air Force had not engaged in final agency action, and that even if the court had jurisdiction, the group had failed to state a claim because RCRA's permitting process made NEPA review "redundant" and a "waste of resources." The appellate court found the possibility that the agency might have chosen a different place or method for handling the waste had it taken the requisite "hard look" and appropriately engaged the public before committing to its plan for disposal made the group's injury fairly traceable, and was enough to establish standing. It also found the Air Force's decision to apply for a RCRA permit and the details of its planned activities in the application reflected the agency's commitment to a particular location for and method of waste disposal, such that it had engaged in final agency action ripe for judicial review. Last, it found RCRA's permitting process did not make NEPA's mandated environmental review "superfluous," and that NEPA applied to the decision to conduct OB/OD operations at the beach. The court reversed the dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.