Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, Inc. v. National Guard Bureau

The federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin rejected claims that the National Guard Bureau violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it evaluated 27 construction, demolition, and renovation projects at the 115th Fighter Wing installation of the Wisconsin Air National Guard at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison. The court found that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that an environmental impact statement or supplemental environmental assessment should have been prepared and also found that the environmental review had not been improperly segmented from the review of a decision to base F-35A aircraft at the airport—a decision that the plaintiff challenged in a separate action. In rejecting the improper segmentation claim, the court also rejected the argument that the National Guard Bureau failed to consider climate change—the court said the defendants were not obligated to consider the effects of the decision to “beddown” F-35A aircraft at the airport, and that the plaintiff could pursue this argument in the other action. The court also found that the defendants adequately considered cumulative effects and environmental justice and did not violate notice and public participation requirements.