Renew 81 for All v. New York State Department of Transportation

The New York Appellate Division reversed a judgment requiring the New York State Department of Transportation to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the proposed reconfiguration of the viaduct portion of Interstate 81 in Syracuse. As an initial matter, the Fourth Department agreed with the petitioners’ position in their cross-appeal that the Supreme Court, Onondaga County erred by directing the respondents to prepare an SEIS instead of annulling the challenged approvals. On the merits, however, the appellate court agreed with the respondents that they had complied with their substantive obligations under SEQRA by taking a hard look at relevant environmental factors, including air quality and stormwater management, and making a reasoned elaboration for their determination. The Fourth Department said the degree of detail in which each factor was discussed was commensurate with the circumstances and nature of the project. The Fourth Department also found that the petitioners failed to establish a clear legal right to compel preparation of a SEIS to address anticipated development of a semiconductor manufacturing campus north of the project area, which was announced after the final environmental impact statement was completed. The Fourth Department said a lead agency’s determination of whether to prepare an SEIS was discretionary and found that to the extent DOT’s failure to respond to the request for an SEIS constituted a constructive denial, the denial was not arbitrary or capricious “in light of the absence of evidence in the record that sufficient concrete information on the anticipated semiconductor manufacturing campus project existed to permit effective review at that time.”