Denis HANLY et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Richard G. KLEINDIENST, as Attorney General of the United States, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 357, Docket 72-1959
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Argued Nov. 6, 1972. Decided Dec. 5, 1972.
471 F.2d 823
Plaintiffs have strenuously attempted to build a “factual case” on paper requiring submission to the jury. We believe they have failed to do so. The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Milton Sherman, Asst. U. S. Atty. (Whitney North Seymour, Jr., U. S. Atty., S. D. N. Y., T. Gorman Reilly, Asst. U. S. Atty., New York City, of counsel), for defendants-appellees.
Before FRIENDLY, Chief Judge, and MANSFIELD and TIMBERS, Circuit Judges.
MANSFIELD, Circuit Judge:
This case, which presents serious questions as to the interpretation of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
Since the background of the action up to the date of our earlier remand is set forth in Hanly I, we limit ourselves to a brief summary. Appellants are members of groups residing or having their businesses in an area of lower Manhattan called “The Manhattan Civic Center” which comprises not only various courthouses, government buildings and businesses, but also residential housing, including cooperative apartments in two buildings close to the MCC and various similar apartments and tenements in nearby Chinatown. GSA, of which appellant Robert L. Kunzig was the Administrator, is engaged in the construction of an Annex to the United States Courthouse, Foley Square, Manhattan, located on a site to the east of the Courthouse and immediately to the south of Chinatown and the aforementioned two cooperative apartments. The Annex will consist of two buildings, each approximately 12 stories high, which will have a total of 345,601 gross square feet of space (214,264 net). One will be an office building for the staffs of the United States Attorney and the United States Marshal, presently located in the severely overcrowded main Courthouse building, and the other will be the MCC.
The MCC will serve, under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, as the detention center for approximately 449 persons awaiting trial or convicted of short term federal offenses. It will replace the present drastically overcrowded and inadequate facility on West Street, Manhattan, and will be large enough to provide space not only for incarceration but for diagnostic services, and medical, recreational and administrative facilities. Up to 48 of the detainees, mostly those scheduled for release within 30 to 90 days, may participate in a community treatment program whereby they will be permitted to spend part of each day in the city engaged in specific work or study activity, returning to the MCC after completion of each day‘s business.4 A new program will provide service for out-patient non-residents.5 The MCC will be serviced by approximately 130 employees, only 90 of whom will be present on the premises at any one time.
In February 1972, appellants sought injunctive relief against construction of the MCC on the ground that GSA had failed to comply with the mandates of
Upon appeal this Court affirmed the district court‘s order as to the office building but reversed and remanded as to the detention center, the MCC, on the ground that the GSA‘s threshold determination, which had been set forth in a short memorandum entitled “Environmental Statement” dated February 23, 1971,6 was too meager to satisfy NEPA‘S requirements. That statement confined itself to a brief evaluation of the availability of utilities, the adequacy of mass transportation, the removal of trash, the absence of a relocation problem and the intention to comply with existing zoning regulations. In remanding the case this Court, although finding the GSA statement sufficient to support its threshold determination with respect to the proposed office building, concluded that the detention center “stands on a different footing,” Hanly I at 646, and that the agency was required to give attention to other factors that might affect human environment in the area, including the possibility of riots and disturbances in the jail which might expose neighbors to additional noise, the dangers of crime to which neighbors might be exposed as the consequence of housing an out-patient treatment center in the building, possible traffic and parking problems that might be increased by trucks delivering food and supplies and by vans taking prisoners to and from the Eastern District and New Jersey District Courts, and the need for parking space for prison personnel and accommodations for visitors, including lawyers or members of the family. This Court concluded:
“The Act must be сonstrued to include protection of the quality of life for city residents. Noise, traffic, overburdened mass transportation systems, crime, congestion and even availability of drugs all affect the urban ‘environment’ and are surely results of the ‘profound influences of . . . high-density urbanization [and] industrial expansion.‘” Hanly I, 460 F.2d at 647.
We further noted that in making the threshold determination authorized by
Following the remand a new threshold determination in the form of a 25-page “Assessment of the Environmental Impact” (“Assessment” herein) was made by the GSA and submitted to the district court on June 15, 1972. This document (to which photographs, architect‘s renditions and a letter of approval from the Director of the Office of Lower Manhattan Development, City of New York, are attached) reflects a detailed consideration of numerous relevant factors. Among other things, it analyzes the size, exact location, and proposed use of the MCC; its design features, construction, and aesthetic relationship to its surroundings; the extent to which its occupants and activities conducted in it will be visible by the community; the estimated effects of its operation upon traffic, public transit and parking facilities; its approximate population, including detainees and employees; its effect on the level of noise, smoke, dirt, obnoxious odors, sewage and solid waste removal; and its energy demands. It also sets forth possible alternatives, concluding that there is none that is satisfactory. Upon the basis of this Assess
On August 2, 1972, appellants renewed their application to Judge Tenney for a preliminary injunction, arguing that the Assessment failed to comply with this Court‘s direction in Hanly I, that it amounted to nothing more than a rewrite of the earlier statement that had been found inadequate, and that some of its findings were incorrect or insufficient. Appеllants further demanded a consolidation of the motion for preliminary relief with a jury trial of the issues. On August 8, 1972, Judge Tenney, in a careful opinion, denied appellants’ motions, from which the present appeal was taken.
Discussion
At the outset we accept and agree with the decision of the Hanly I panel that the agency in charge of a proposed federal action (in this case the GSA) is the party authorized to make the threshold determination whether an action is one “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment” as that phrase is used in
We are next confronted with a question that was deferred in Hanly I—the standard of review that must be applied by us in reviewing GSA‘s action. The action involves both a question of law—the meaning of the word “significantly” in the statutory phrase “significantly affecting the quality of the human environment“—and a question of fact—whether the MCC will have a “significantly” adverse environmental impact. Strictly speaking, our function as a reviewing court is to determine de novo “all relevant questions of law,” Administrative Procedure Act § 10(e),
Where the court‘s interpretation of statutory language requires some appraisal of facts, a neat delineation of the legal issues for the purpose of substituted judiciаl analysis has sometimes proven to be impossible or, at least, inadvisable. Furthermore, in some cases a complete de novo analysis of the legal questions, though theoretically possible, may be undesirable for the reason that the agency‘s determination reflects the exercise of expertise not possessed by the court. See, e. g., Moog Industries, Inc. v. FTC, 355 U.S. 411, 78 S.Ct. 377, 2 L.Ed.2d 370 (1958), where the Court declined to overturn the Commission‘s discretionary determination, stating:
“It is clearly within the special competence of the Commission to appraise the adverse effect on competition that might result from postponing a particular order prohibiting continued violations of the law. Furthermore, the Commission alone is empowered to develop that enforcement policy best calculated to achieve the ends contemplated by Congress and to allocate its available funds and personnel in such a way as to execute its policy efficiently and economically.” 355 U.S. at 413, 78 S.Ct. at 379 (emphasis supplied).
Accordingly, with respect to review of such mixed questions of law and fact the Supreme Court has authorized a simpler, more practical standard, the “rational basis” test, whereby the agenсy‘s decision will be accepted where it has “warrant in the record” and a “reasonable basis in law.” NLRB v. Hearst Publications, 322 U.S. 111, 131, 64 S.Ct. 851, 88 L.Ed. 1170 (1944); see Rochester Telephone Corp. v. United States, 307 U.S. 125, 146, 59 S.Ct. 754, 83 L.Ed. 1147 (1939); 4 Davis §§ 29.01, 30.05 (1958).
Notwithstanding the possible availability of the “rational basis” standard, we believe that the appropriate criterion in the present case is the “arbitrary, capricious” standard established by the Administrative Procedure Act, since the meaning of the term “significantly” as used in
Upon attempting, according to the foregoing standard, to interpret the amorphous term “significantly,” as it is used in
Guidelines issued by the CEQ, which are echoed in rules for implementation published by the Public Buildings Service, the branch of GSA concerned with the construction of the MCC, suggest that a formal impact statement should be prepared with respect to “proposed actions, the environmental impact of which is likely to be highly controversial.” See Council on Environmental Quality, Statements on Proposed Federаl Actions Affecting the Environment, Guidelines § 5(b), 36 Fed.Reg. 7724 (April 23, 1971); Public Buildings Service, Environmental Statements, Attachments § 1a(5) (Dec. 2, 1971), 1 Env.L. Rep. 46151. However, the term “controversial” apparently refers to cases where a substantial dispute exists as to the size, nature or effect of the major federal action rather than to the existence of opposition to a use, the effect of which is relatively undisputed. This Court in Hanly I, for instance, did not require a formal impact statement with respect to the office building portion of the Annex despite the existence of neighborhood opposition to it. The suggestion that “controversial” must be equated with neighborhood opposition has also been rejected by others. See Citizens for Reid State Park v. Laird, 336 F.Supp. 783 (D.Me.1972).9A
In the absence of any Congressional or administrative interpretation of the term, we are persuaded that in deciding whether a major federal action will “significantly” affect the quality of the human environment the agency in charge, although vested with broad discretion, should normally be required to review the proposed action in the light of at least two relevant factors: (1) the extent to which the action will cause adverse environmental effects in excess of those created by existing uses in the area affected by it, and (2) the absolute quantitative adverse environmental effects of the action itself, including
Although the existing environment of the area which is the site of a major federal action constitutes one criterion to be considered, it must be recognized that even a slight increase in adverse conditions that form an existing environmental milieu may sometimes threaten harm that is significant. One more factory polluting air and water in an area zoned for industrial use may represent the straw that breaks the back of the environmental camel. Hence the absolute, as well as comparative, effects of a major federal action must be considered.
Chief Judge Friendly‘s thoughtful dissent, while conceding that we (and governmental agencies) face a difficult problem in determining the meaning of the vague and amorphous term “significantly” as used in
We agree with Chief Judge Friendly that an impact statement should not be required where the impact will be minor or unimportant, or where “there is no sensible reason for making one,” and that such a statement should be required where the action may fairly be said to have a potentially significant adverse effect. But these conclusions merely pose the problem which cannot be solved by an interchange of adjectives. In our view such a morass can be avoided only by formulation of more precise factors that must be considered in making the essential threshold determination. This we have attempted to do.
In the absence of such standards we cannot agree that construction of a proposed office building of the type forming part of the Annex would be “obviously insignificant” and hence would not require an impact statement. An office building or, indeed, a jail, may have an adverse impact in an area where such use does not exist and is not permitted by zoning laws (e. g., Park Avenue and 72nd Street) whereas the contrary would hold in a location where such uses do exist and are authorized by such laws (e. g., the location of the MCC). See Goose Hollow Foothills League v. Romney, 334 F.Supp. 877 (D.Ore.1971) (setting aside threshold determination that high-rise building would not significantly affect environment where no weight had been given to fact that it would change character of neighborhood and concentrate population in the neighborhood). Rather than encourage agencies to dispense with impact statements, we believe that application of the foregoing
Although this Court in Hanly I did not expressly articulate the standards we have used, its decision that the proposed office building portion of the Annex would not be environmentally significant conforms to the rationale. The office building would not differ substantially from the makeup of the surrounding area. Nor would it in absolutе terms give rise to sizeable adverse environmental effects. Most of the employees occupying the building would merely be transferred from the existing Courthouse where the newly created space will be used primarily for courthrooms and desperately needed office space for court personnel. On the other hand, the proposed jail, for reasons set forth in detail in Hanly I, might have adverse effects differing both qualitatively and quantitatively from those associated with existing uses in the area. Moreover there was insufficient evidence that the absolute environmental effect with respect to the jail had been analyzed and considered by the GSA. Thus the matter was remanded for reappraisal. Now that the GSA has made and submitted its redetermination in the form of a 25-page “Assessment,” our task is to determine (1) whether it satisfies the foregoing tests as to environmental significance, and (2) whether GSA, in making its assessment and determination, has observed “procedure required by law” as that term is used in § 10 of the APA,
The Assessment closely parallels in form a detailed impact statement. The GSA‘s finding that the MCC would harmonize architecturally with existing buildings in the area, and even enhance the appearаnce of the neighborhood, is supported by details of the proposed building, architectural renditions, and photographs of the area. The facade of the MCC and of the Annex office building are designed to reflect the first cornice height of the Municipal Building, a prominent architectural feature of both the United States Courthouse and the New York Supreme Court, and to blend closely in appearance and geometry with the surrounding buildings, including the newly constructed New York City Police Headquarters. The windows, which will be glazed with unbreakable polycarbonate plastic shatter-proof sheets will be recessed and will be of a dark gray color designed to insulate the community from visual contact with the detainees. Moreover, there will be no fortress walls or unsightly steel-barred windows, cf. Ely v. Velde, 451 F.2d 1130 (4th Cir. 1971). In short, the building will not look like a correctional center.
The Assessment further describes efforts that will be made to minimize any contact between detainees and members of the community. In addition to the recessed, darkened windows, all prisoners will enter the building through an entrance on Cardinal Hayes Place, located on the side opposite from and out of view of neighborhood residential apartments. Although there will be a roof-top recreational area for detainees, a 20-foot wall will minimize their visibility from the apartments.
The Assessment further notes that any increase in traffic from MCC will be extremely slight. One van will take and return detainees on one daily round trip during weekdays to the Eastern District Courthouse and to the Newark District Courthouse. However, this traffic will be offset by the fact that two vans currently used to bring prisoners from West Street to the Courthouse in Foley Square daily will be eliminated since these prisoners will be transported from the MCC across enclosed bridges connecting it with the Courthouse.
Visiting hours at the MCC will be permitted between 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. and between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. The GSA Assessment projected on
The windows of the MCC are designed to minimize any noise from within the premises, in addition to which detainees will be under constant supervision when outside on the roof-top for recreational purposes. During the past five years there have been only two small inside disturbances at the present detention facility at West Street, Manhattan, and three outside disturbances, the latter confined to non-violent picketing, marching and the like, incidents which have been common occurrence in the Foley Square area during the same period.
The Assessment makes clear that the MCC will not produce any unusual or excessive amounts of smoke, dirt, obnoxious odors, solid waste, or other forms of pollution. The utilities required to heat and air-condition the building are readily available and the MCC is designed to incorporate energy-saving features, so that no excessive power demands are posed. The GSA further represents that the building will conform to all local codes, use and zoning, and attaches a letter from the New York City Office of Lower Manhattan Development dated August 4, 1971, indicating approval of the Annex, which includes the MCC.
Appellants contend that the Assessment is merely a “rewrite” of GSA‘s earlier February 23, 1971 “Environmental Statement” found inadequate in Hanly I, and that GSA has failed to take into consideration certain adverse facts. A comparison of the 25-page detailed Assessment with the earlier statement reveals that the former is far more than a “rewrite” and that it furnishes detailed findings with respect to most of the relevant factors unmentioned in the earlier statement. On its face the Assessment indicates that GSA has redetermined the environmental impact of the MCC with care and thoroughness. In the absence of contrary factual proof, we would have no hesitancy in upholding it, whether it is reviewed by the “arbitrary, capricious” standard or the “rational basis” test. Judged by the comparative uses in the area and according to its quantitative environmental effects, the MCC should not have a significant effect upon the human environment.
Appellants offer little or no evidence to contradict the detailed facts found by the GSA. For the most part their opposition is based upon a psychological distaste for having a jail located so close to residential apartments, which is understandable enough. It is doubtful whether psychological and sociological effects upon neighbors constitute the type of factors that may be considered in making such a determination since they do not lend themselves to measurement.10 However we need not decide that issue because these apartments were constructed within two or three blocks of another existing jail, The Manhattan House of Detention for Men, which is much larger than the proposed MCC and houses approximately 1,200 prisoners.11 Furthermore the area in which the MCC is located has at all times been zoned by the City of New York as a commercial district designed to provide for a wide range of uses, specifically including “Prisons.”12
“Neither the anticipated non-resident pre-sentence study program nor any program to be conducted within the Metropolitan Correction Center will include drug maintenance.”
While we do not question the Government‘s good faith, a finding in the matter by GSA is essential, since the Assessment is ambiguous as to the scope of the non-resident out-patient observation program and makes no finding on the subject of whether the MCC will increase the risk of crime in the community.15 In addition one of the appellants, Sien Wei Liu, has furnished to the district court an affidavit taking issue with certain facts found by the GSA, including the visibility of the jail‘s rear entrance from nearby apartment buildings, the distance of the MCC from the closest apartment, the possible use of nearby overcrowded community medical facilities by prisoners, and the claim that сertain city officials are opposed to the location of the MCC.
Appellants further contend that they have never been given an opportunity to discuss the MCC with any governmental agency prior to GSA‘s submission of its Assessment, which raises the question whether the agency acted “without observance of procedure required by law,” see Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136 (1971). We do not share the Government‘s view that the procedural mandates of § 102(A), (B), and (D),
Where a proposed major federal action may affect the sensibilities of a neighborhood, the prudent course would be for the agency in charge, before making a threshold decision, to give notice to the community of the contemplated action and to accept all pertinent information proffered by concerned citizens with respect to it. Furthermore, in line with the procedure usually followed in zoning disputes, particularly where emotions are likely to be aroused by fears, or rumors of misinformation, a public hearing serves the dual purpose of enabling the agency to obtain all relevant data and to satisfy the community that its views are being considered. However, neither NEPA nor any other federal statute mandates the specific type of procedure to be followed by federal agencies. There is no statutory requirement that a public hearing be held before a site for a house of detention is selected by the Attorney General or construction of the facility is undertaken by the GSA. See
Notwithstanding the absence of statutory or administrative provisions on the subject, this Court has already held in Hanly I at 647 that federal agencies must “affirmatively develop a reviewable environmental record . . . even for purposes of a threshold section 102(2)(C) determination.” We now go further and hold that before a preliminary or threshold determination of significance is made the responsible agency must give notice to the public of the proposed major federal action and an opportunity to submit relevant facts which might bear upon the agency‘s threshold decision. We do not suggest that a full-fledged formal hearing must be provided before each such determination is made, although it should be apparent that in many cases such a hearing would be advisable for reasons already indicated. The necessity for a hearing will depend greatly upon the circumstances surrounding the particular proposed action and upon the likelihood that a hearing will be more effective than other methods in developing relevant information and an understanding of the proposed action. The precise procedural steps to be adopted are better left to the agency, which should be in a better position than the court to determine whether solution of the problems faced with respect to a specific major federal action can better be achieved through a hearing or by informal acceptance of relevant data.
In view of the Assessment‘s failure to make findings with respect to the possible existence of a drug maintenance program at the MCC, the increased risk of crime that might result from the operation of the MCC, and the fact that appellants have challenged certain findings of fact, we remand the case for the purpose of requiring the GSA to make a further investigation of these issues, with directions to accept from appellants and other concerned citizens such further evidence as they may proffer within a reasonable period, to make supplemental findings with respect to these issues, and to redetermine whether the MCC “significantly affects the quality of the human environment“. If, as a result of such further investigation, the GSA concludes that a detailed environmental impact statement is required, a preliminary injunction will be granted restraining further construction of the MCC until the agency has complied with the procedures required by
With the aid of hindsight we recognize, as does the dissent, that a further Assessment, when added to the time and expense already incurred, will prolong the final determination far beyond the time that would have been required if the energies of the GSA had been directed initially toward the preparation of an impact statement. However, important issues have been presented and there is no suggestion of bad faith or deliberate delay on the part of anyone. Indeed if the need for an impact statement had been obvious, this Court in Hanly I would hardly have accepted the initial determination with respect to the office building portion of the Annex and remanded the case for a further determination as to the MCC.
The case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. The mandate shall issue forthwith.
FRIENDLY, Chief Judge (dissenting):
The learned opinion of my brother MANSFIELD gives these plaintiffs, and environmental advocates in future cases, both too little and too much. It gives too little because it raises the floor of
While I agree that determination of the meaning of “significant” is a question of law, one must add immediately that to make this determination on the basis of the dictionary would be impossible. Although all words may be “chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment,” C. I. R. v. National Carbide Corp., 167 F.2d 304, 306 (2 Cir. 1948) (L. Hand, J.), “significant” has that quality more than most. It covers a spectrum ranging from “not trivial” through “appreciable” to “important” and even “momentous“. If the right meaning is at the lower end of the spectrum, the construction of the MCC comes within it; per contra if the meaning is at the higher end.
The scheme of the National Environmental Policy Act argues for giving “significant” a reading which places it toward the lower end of the spectrum. The statute‘s objectives,
It is not readily conceivable that Congress meant to allow agencies to avoid this central requirement by reading “significant” to mean only “important,” “momentous,” or the like. One of the purposes of the impact statement is to insure that the rеlevant environmental data are before the agency and considered by it prior to the decision to commit Federal resources to the project; the statute must not be construed so as to al
Beyond the general scheme оf the legislation, a court normally looks for guidance, in the case of a statute calling for administrative action, to the views of those charged with its administration. See Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 433-434, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971); Udall v. Tallman, 380 U.S. 1, 16-17, 85 S.Ct. 792, 13 L.Ed.2d 616 (1965); Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 140, 65 S.Ct. 161, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944). However, this does not mean that dominating weight should be given to the views of agencies upon whom NEPA placed a duty to make impact statements when the result would be to relieve them from that obligation—particularly when these are “action” agencies like the GSA. The National Environmental Policy Act established its own watch-dog agency, The Council on Environmental Quality. The CEQ Guidelines lend additional support to the conclusion that the threshold determination of significance must be set at a low level. They provide that “if there is potential that the environment may be significantly affected, the statement is to be prepared.” Guidelines § 5(b), 36 Fed.Reg. 7724 (1971) (emphasis added). And they state further, in a remark highly relevant to this case:
Proposed actions, the environmental impact of which is likely to be highly controversial, should be covered in all cases.
Id. This Guideline has been expressly adopted by the GSA in its own regulations, GSA Public Buildings Service Order 1095.1A, Attachment B, § 1(a)(5) (Dec. 2, 1971). With respect, I see no basis for reading this as limited to cases where there is a dispute over what the environmental effects actually will be. Rather, I would think it clear that this includes action which the agency should
I thus reach the question whether, with the term so narrowed, the GSA‘s refusal to prepare an impact statement for the MCC can be supported. Accepting the majority‘s standard of review, I would think that, even with the fuller assessment here before us, the GSA could not reasonably conclude that the MCC does not entail potentially significant environmental effects. I see no ground for the majority‘s doubt “whether psy
I do not mean anything said in this opinion to imply that GSA will be unable to conclude in an impact statement that construction of the MCC is justified. Furthermore, as I have suggested in another case, “Once it is determined in any particular instance that there has been good faith compliance with those procedures [of NEPA], we seriously question whether much remains for a reviewing court.” City of New York v. United States (II), 344 F.Supp. 929, 940 (E.D.N.Y.1972); see also Calvert Cliffs’ Coordinating Committee, Inc. v. AEC, 146 U.S.App.D.C. 33, 449 F.2d 1109, 1115 (1971); Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Morton, 458 F.2d 827, 838 (D.C.Cir.1972); A. W. Murphy, The National Environmental Policy Act and the Licensing Process: Environmental Magna Carta or Agency Coup de Grace, 72 Colum.L.Rev. 963, 1006-07 (1972). However, as said in City of New York v. United States (I), 337 F.Supp. 150, 160 (E.D.N.Y.1972):
To permit an agency to ignore its duties under NEPA with impunity because we have serious doubts that its ultimate decision will be affected by compliance would subvert the very purpose of the Act and encourage further administrative laxity in this area.
The energies my brothers would require GSA to devote to still a third assessment designed to show that an impact statement is not needed would better be devoted to making one.
I would reverse and direct the issuance of an injunction until a reasonable period after the making of an impact statement.
No. 72-2851
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Dec. 21, 1972.
Rehearing Denied Jan. 26, 1973.
Rule 18, 5 Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Company of New York et al., 5 Cir., 1970, 431 F.2d 409, Part I.
Notes
“The Congress authorizes and directs that, to the fullest extent possible: . . . (2) all agencies of the Federal Government shall—
“(A) utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental design arts in planning and in decisionmaking which may have a [sic] impact on man‘s environment;
“(B) identify and develop methods and procedures, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality established by subchapter II of this chapter, which will insure that presently unquantified environmental amenities and values may be given appropriate consideration in decisionmaking along with economic and technical considerations;
“(C) include in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, a detailed statement by the responsible official on—
(i) the environmental impact of the proposed action,
(ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented,
(iii) alternatives to the proposed action,
(iv) the relationship between local short-term uses of man‘s environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity, and
(v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.
Prior to making any detailed statement, the responsible Federal official shall cоnsult with and obtain the comments of any Federal agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved. Copies of such statement and the comments and views of the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, which are authorized to develop and enforce environmental standards, shall be made available to the President, the Council on Environmental Quality and to the public as provided by
“(D) study, develop, and describe appropriate alternatives to recommended courses of action in any proposal which involves unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available resources;”
The majority apparently construes the earlier opinion in this case, Hanly v. Mitchell, 460 F.2d 640, 647 (2 Cir. 1972), as holding that some procedures for public participation are required before making a threshold assessment that no impact statement is required. I cannot agree. The full statement in the opinion was:But in the context of an act designed to require federal agencies to affirmatively develop a reviewable environmental record, this perfunctory and conclusory language simply does not suffice, even for purposes of a threshold section 102(2)(C) determination.
What the court was saying was that “in the context of an act designed to require federal agencies to affirmatively develop a reviewable environmental record” by preparing an impact statement, the agency could not escape the duty of making one, at least in an arguable case, by “perfunctory and conclusory language.” This is a long way from dictating any procedure for public participation in threshold determinations. The discussion in 460 F.2d at 648-649 affords further evidence that the earlier panel did not think there need be public participation before the GSA prepared a revised assessment. In any event, the statute is so clear on this point that I would feel constrained not to follow any contrary dictum, if dictum there were.
“(C) Each agency which proposes any major actions, such as project proposals, proposals for new legislation, regulations, policy statements, or expansion or revision of ongoing programs, shall make a determination as to whether the proposal would have a significant effect upon the quality of the human environment. If the proposal is considered to have such an effect, then the recommendation or report supporting the proposal must include statements by the responsible official of certain findings as follows: . . .” S.Rep. 91-296, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. at 20.