City of Long Beach v. City of Los Angeles

The California Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s determination that the review of greenhouse gas emissions associated with a proposed new railyard four miles from the Port of Los Angeles was deficient, but agreed that the final environmental impact report (FEIR) prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) had failed to adequately consider the project’s air quality impacts, particularly impacts to ambient air pollutant concentrations. The FEIR for the project had found that the project would increase fuel efficiency of regional cargo movement and decrease greenhouse emissions by reducing truck traffic in a manner consistent with state and local policies and plans for greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, even though operational emissions would eventually exceed CEQA baseline levels. The appellate court disagreed with the trial court’s conclusion that a project that increased greenhouse gas emissions could not be in harmony with a state and local plans requiring a decrease in emissions. The appellate court said that the FEIR had appropriately separated the quantitative analysis (where it identified a significant impact) from the qualitative analysis (where it found no inconsistency with state and local policies encouraging more efficient use of fossil fuels to move goods).