Washington v. U.S. Department of the Navy

Slightly more than a year after finding that the Navy failed to adequately disclose greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts of increased Growler aircraft operations at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the federal district court for the Western District of Washington found that the appropriate remedy was remand without vacatur. Although the court found that “failure to conduct these necessary analyses are … sufficiently serious violations as they clearly undermine central congressional objectives of NEPA,” the court further found that the Navy provided substantial support for the conclusion that the increased Growler presence for training was essential for national security and that the court must “greatly defer” to senior military officials professional judgments. The court therefore found that equities and the public interest weighed strongly in favor of remand without vacatur.

The federal district court for the Western District of Washington adopted a report and recommendation finding that the Navy violated NEPA when it authorized expansion of EA-18G “Growler” aircraft operations at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. The report and recommendation found that the Navy had “turn[ed] a blind eye to data that would not support [its] intended result” of increasing Growler operations, including by underreporting Growler fuel emissions and failing to disclose that it was not including any emissions for flights above 3,000 feet, even after receiving a comment on this issue.