ELR Citation: ELR 20045
No(s). 72-1634 (9th Cir. Jan 2, 1973)

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirms a judgment holding that defendants complied with the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection with the construction of a series of generating facilities. The court concludes that: (1) an environmental impact statement cannot be invalidated merely because a technical, non-environmental study of the project was unavailable during the time allotted for public commentary and preparation of environmental analyses; (2) although the district court erred in deciding that an impact statement need not be filed for "major federal actions" taken subsequent to the effective date of NEPA where the project's inception pre-dates NEPA, declaratory relief is improper since the Secretary of the Interior is in process of preparing such a statement; and (3) formal public hearings prior to issuance of a final impact statement are not required in every instance.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Edward Berlin
1712 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Bruce Green
Native American Rights Fund
1506 Broadway
Boulder, CO 80302

Counsel for Defendants
Carl Strass
Department of Justice
Lands and Natural Resource Division
Washington, DC 20530