Fresno Bee Logo

High-speed rail agency says fed law trumps state environmental rules | The Fresno Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Advertise
    • Place Classified Ad
    • Display Advertising
    • Stay Connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • E-mail
    • RSS Feeds
    • Archives
    • Activate Digital Subscription
    • Manage Account
    • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Weather
    • Education
    • Marijuana
    • California
    • Nation/World
    • Databases
    • Special Reports
    • Obituaries
    • Sports
    • High Schools
    • Outdoors
    • Grizzlies
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • College
    • Columnists
    • David White
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Political Notebook
    • Fresno State Bulldogs
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Entertainment
    • Calendar
    • Movies
    • Movie Times
    • Music
    • TV
    • Theater & Arts
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Dine Out
    • Peoples Choice
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Rory Appleton
    • Joshua Tehee
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Calendar
    • Religion
    • Horoscopes
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Beehive
    • Bethany Clough
    • Carmen George
    • Fresno Famous
    • Ask Amy
    • Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Technology
    • Mortgage Rates
    • Blogs
    • BoNhia Lee
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Valley Voices
    • Other Opinions
    • Submit a Letter
    • Columnists
    • Armen Bacon
    • Victor Davis Hanson
    • David "Mas" Masumoto
    • Marek Warszawski
    • Today's Obituaries
    • Place an Obituary
  • CV Magazine
  • Peoples Choice Awards
  • Best of Clovis
    • Today's Hot Deal
    • Today's Circulars
    • Classifieds
    • Auctions/Estate Sales
    • Garage Sales
    • Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
    • Jobs
    • Automotive
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Legal Notices
    • Service Directory
    • Classified
    • Open House Weekend
    • Real Estate Marketplace

    • Jobs
    • Fresno Bee Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
    • Search Real Estate
    • New Homes Map
  • Mobile & Apps

High-Speed Rail

High-speed rail agency says fed law trumps state environmental rules

Tim Sheehan - The Fresno Bee

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 12, 2013 05:09 PM

An appellate court brief in a high-speed rail lawsuit from the Bay Area could have far-reaching implications in the rest of the state -- including the San Joaquin Valley, where the first stretches of the statewide bullet-train network are supposed to be built.

Late Friday, The California High-Speed Rail Authority filed a brief with the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento claiming that federal environmental laws -- typically considered less stringent than the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA -- supersede state regulations. In April, the federal Surface Transportation Board asserted that it has jurisdiction over the state's high-speed rail project.

The state Attorney General's Office, which represents the rail agency, believes that federal decision triggered provisions of national law that "pre-empt" the state's environmental laws.

The filing on Friday is part of the state's arguments that the appeals court should dismiss a CEQA suit by the city of Atherton and other Bay Area communities to overturn the rail authority's approval of Pacheco Pass, instead of the Altamont Pass, as the general route for high-speed trains between the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

If the court agrees, it could establish a precedent for sections of the high-speed rail project throughout the state.

"The issue of whether the project is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ... will ultimately be decided by the courts," said Jeff Morales, the rail authority's CEO. He added that the agency "remains committed to environmental review of the project and will continue to work cooperatively with agencies responsible for resource and environmental protection."

Jason Holder, an Oakland attorney who represented Farm Bureau organizations in Madera and Merced counties and other plaintiffs in a now-settled CEQA lawsuit against the rail authority, said the key federal law, the National Environmental Policy Act, is considerably weaker than California's environmental rules. "CEQA is like NEPA, but with teeth," Holder told a gathering of the Fresno County Bar Association last week.

The rail authority hinted at its legal strategy in late June, when the attorney general notified the court that "the authority is examining the STB's jurisdictional decision to determine the potentially significant consequences that it may have in this case." That letter asked for a postponement of a July 22 hearing on the Atherton appeal. The court granted the delay and ordered both sides to submit briefs on the pre-emption issue.

The opposing attorney in the Atherton lawsuit, Stuart Flashman of Oakland, is out of the country on vacation until next week and was unavailable to comment on Friday's filing.

In an earlier letter to the court, however, Flashman discounted the idea of federal pre-emption in Atherton's appeal because the issue was not raised when the case was heard in Sacramento County Superior Court. He suggested that the judge "consider the (authority's) request with a jaundiced eye."

Flashman also represents Kings County in its lawsuit against the rail authority over whether the statewide plan conforms to the requirements of Proposition 1A, the $9.9 billion high-speed rail bond measure approved by California voters in 2008. That case, in which a ruling is expected by the end of this month, would not be affected by the pre-emption question.

But a ruling on whether state or federal laws reign over the $68 billion rail project could affect whether future environmental challenges are heard in state or federal court.

Opponents have repeatedly used CEQA, the state law, to target the high-speed rail project in state courts. In addition to the Atherton lawsuit, which dates to 2010, three separate lawsuits were filed last year in the Sacramento County Superior Court after the rail agency approved its Merced-Fresno section and adopted a 33,000-page environmental-impact report prepared under both the California Environmental Quality Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

All three of those cases were settled this year, but more suits are all but certain as the rail authority moves forward with environmental reviews for other portions of the project. The agency is in the midst of preparing environmental reports under CEQA for its Fresno-Bakersfield section and for the Chowchilla Wye, a Y-shaped junction in Madera County connecting the Merced-Fresno section of the statewide rail system with an east-west line from the Bay Area.

The attorney general believes the federal Surface Transportation Board's decision -- which the rail authority argued against earlier this year -- not only changes the rules of the game, but also the arena in which the game should be played.

"Now that the STB has determined that the high-speed train system is under its jurisdiction ... the (Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act) pre-empts CEQA in this case," Deputy Attorney General Danae J. Aitchison wrote in Friday's brief.

That means that instead of CEQA, Aitchison added, "federal environmental statutes such as NEPA, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act would apply to the project."

Morales, the rail authority's CEO, said there is "overwhelming overlap" between the state and federal environmental laws, and that his agency is committed to environmental protection beyond the laws, including fuel-efficient construction equipment to reduce pollution while the lines are built and using only renewable energy sources such as solar to generate electricity to power the trains.

"Those are things that aren't strictly required under federal or state law and that would not change based on the outcome of this," Morales told The Associated Press.

Flashman, the attorney for the Bay Area cities, has until Sept. 17 to respond to the state's latest arguments.

  Comments  

Videos

Gov. Gavin Newsom: ‘Let’s level about the high-speed rail’

Neighbors voice concern over homeless encampment in Fresno

View More Video

Trending Stories

A woman selling roadside flowers was robbed. A passerby made sure she got her money back

February 17, 2019 11:00 AM

This week: More rain. More snow. More freezing temperatures. Here’s what you need to know

February 17, 2019 02:05 PM

One man dead, two children injured in Fresno crash; police investigating possible DUI

February 17, 2019 09:02 PM

Suspected gas thieves suffer major injuries after SUV plunges into Fresno County creek

February 17, 2019 09:40 AM

Fresno establishes ‘long overdue’ immigration committee — but it has no funding

February 17, 2019 06:00 AM

Read Next

No, Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t kill high-speed rail. But what’s his Plan B?
Video media Created with Sketch.

High-Speed Rail

No, Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t kill high-speed rail. But what’s his Plan B?

By Tony Bizjak,

Tim Sheehan, and

Rory Appleton

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 18, 2019 03:00 AM

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to down-size high-speed rail has sent shock waves through the Central Valley, where leaders have long hoped for a quick link to the Bay Area, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Fresno Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE HIGH-SPEED RAIL

Bullet train carried promise of a more prosperous Fresno. Those hopes have been derailed

Marek Warszawski

Bullet train carried promise of a more prosperous Fresno. Those hopes have been derailed

February 13, 2019 12:26 PM
Newsom wants to see high-speed trains for Merced-Bakersfield, puts brakes on SF-LA vision

Local

Newsom wants to see high-speed trains for Merced-Bakersfield, puts brakes on SF-LA vision

February 12, 2019 12:13 PM
California’s bullet train is pumping billions into the Valley economy. So why is it so unpopular?

Big Valley

California’s bullet train is pumping billions into the Valley economy. So why is it so unpopular?

December 23, 2018 12:00 AM
Assemblyman calls for high-speed rail chair’s resignation, amid critical audit

High-Speed Rail

Assemblyman calls for high-speed rail chair’s resignation, amid critical audit

November 30, 2018 03:26 PM
Gas-tax repeal backers’ next target: high-speed rail

Local

Gas-tax repeal backers’ next target: high-speed rail

November 30, 2018 05:16 PM
He still believes in what high-speed rail can do for Fresno, but is starting to lose faith

Marek Warszawski

He still believes in what high-speed rail can do for Fresno, but is starting to lose faith

November 28, 2018 01:39 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Fresno Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Rewards
  • Pay Your Bill
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Advertising with the Bee
  • Place Classified Ads
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story