Communities for a Better Environment v. South Coast Air Quality Management District

On September 21, 2018, the California Superior Court ruled against Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), an environmental justice organization, in its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit challenging the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s approval of a refinery project in Los Angeles County. CBE alleged that the environmental impact report (EIR) for the refinery project masked the underlying purposes of significantly increasing the amount of crude oil at the refinery and allowing the processing of dirtier crude oil. CBE asserted that there were numerous deficiencies in the EIR, including low estimates of local air pollution and failure to disclose direct, indirect, and cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. The court found that substantial evidence supported the District’s determination that the project’s increase in crude storage capacity was not intended to and did not permit an increase in crude processing. The court also found that substantial evidence supported the EIR’s conclusions.