Communities for a Better Environment v. Contra Costa County

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court alleging that Contra Costa County failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act when it approved a project to allow Phillips 66 to modify and augment an existing facility to recover additional butane and propane. CBE contended that the environmental impact report (EIR) prepared for the project obscured the increase in refining of lower-quality oil feedstocks that would occur as a result of the project. CBE alleged that the EIR therefore did not adequately disclose impacts that would occur as a result of the transportation and refining of the lower-quality feedstocks, including, among other impacts, increased emissions of greenhouse gases.