In re City of St. Paul’s Decision on the Need for an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed University of St. Thomas Phased Action

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a negative EIS declaration issued by the City of St. Paul for a planned multipurpose arena project at the University of St. Thomas. The City issued the negative EIS declaration on remand from the court’s <a href="https://www.climatecasechart.com/document/in-re-city-of-st-pauls-decision-on-the-need-for-an-environmental-impact-statement-for-the-proposed-university-of-st-thomas-multipurpose-arena_0816">earlier decision</a> concluding that the City’s environmental review under the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act was deficient. The court found that the updated review adequately responded to the court’s earlier ruling, including the determination that the original negative EIS declaration overlooked greenhouse gas emissions from increased spectator traffic. The court found that the City’s updated declaration explained the rationale for its determination that the greenhouse gas emissions did not create significant environmental effects, including from additional phased actions that the University was taking, and that substantial evidence in the record reasonably supported its findings. The court also said it would not revisit its determination in the first case that substantial evidence supported the decision to omit cooling and refrigeration system emissions from the greenhouse gas analysis. The court also rejected new challenges raised for the first time.