Clinch Coalition v. U.S. Forest Service

The federal district court for the Western District of Virginia concluded that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction over a challenge to a 2020 U.S. Forest Service rule that established three categorical exclusions exempting certain commercial logging projects, road construction, and private uses of national forest lands from NEPA review. The court concluded that the plaintiffs’ claims were not ripe for review and that the plaintiffs lacked standing because they did not tie the categorical exclusions to any site-specific application. The plaintiffs’ allegations included assertions that the exclusions would allow significant climate impacts to occur without analysis.

A lawsuit filed in the federal district court for the Western District of Virginia challenged three categorical exclusions adopted by the U.S. Forest Service to exempt certain projects from NEPA review. The three categorical exclusions are for commercial logging projects up to 2,800 acres and construction of up to three miles of logging roads; construction of up to two miles of permanent road for any purpose; and “special use” authorizations for private uses affecting up to 20 acres of national forest lands. The complaint asserted that the final rule violated NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act, including because the Forest Service did not consider the exclusions’ impacts in light of conditions that are rapidly changing due to climate change. The complaint also alleged that the final rule would allow significant climate impact to occur without analysis “[b]ecause there is no programmatic analysis of the cumulative impact of successive projects on carbon storage.” The plaintiffs contended that the Forest Service should have prepared an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment to address, among other subjects, the rule’s impact on efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions.