Title:
Shenandoah Valley Cetwork v. CAPKA .
Party:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Type of document:
Others
Date of text:
February 17, 2012
Data source:
InforMEA
Court name:
United States Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit
Justice(s):
Wilkinson, King and Keenan.
Reference number:
No. 10-1954
Abstract:
The Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA") and the Virginia Department of Transportation ("VDOT") (collectively, "the Agencies") are planning improvements to Virginias Interstate 81 corridor using a tiered review process. Appellantsa group of environmental and preservation organizationschallenged the Agencies execution of the tiered process, alleging various constitutional and statutory violations. The district court rejected these challenges and granted summary judgment in favor of the Agencies.
On appeal, appellants claim that the Agencies are attempting to foreclose consideration of environmentally friendly alternatives for specific sections of I-81 by choosing a corridor-wide improvement concept in the first stage of the review process. Appellants, however, misapprehend the Agencies position. As confirmed at oral argument, the Agencies plan to comply with the Stipulation in this case and the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., by considering site-specific alternatives to the corridor-wide concept in subsequent stages. Because there is no actual dispute here, and because appellants cannot show any injury or imminent threat of injury, this suit is not justiciable. Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal.
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