In 2010, TRANSDEF, along with fellow litigants the Sierra Club and the California Nurses Association, prevailed in challenging Sonoma County’s approval of a new Sutter Hospital on the fringe of Santa Rosa. Their claim rested on the EIR’s inadequate examination of increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from auto travel to the new project. After the litigants won a favorable ruling, the County agreed to require Sutter Hospital to provide a...

In 2003, the ConocoPhillips Company proposed an expansion of its Rodeo oil refinery in order to produce cleaner burning low-sulfur diesel fuel. While this goal would benefit California in the long run by reducing overall emissions, the construction and subsequent increased production would harm the immediate area by causing increased air pollution. Communities for a Better Environment and several labor unions reviewed the Draft EIR and...

After rapid expansion in the mid-1980s, Contra Costa County recognized the need for a new landfill and decided to take action. The County Community Development Department conducted a program EIR and selected Keller Canyon as the site of the newest countywide solid waste processing facilities. Located in the hills behind Pittsburg near the Sacramento River Delta, Keller Canyon boasted the most centralized location, the shortest haul times, and...

In 1975, the Ventura County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) approved the annexation of prime agricultural land for the development of a 10,000 person “mini-city” without requiring an EIR. The LAFCo and the City of Camarillo claimed that such information was irrelevant at the time because the project was still in the early stages of the land use planning process. Community members, citing CEQA, contended that LAFCo ought to have...

The Breuner property, located in Richmond on the southeastern end of the San Pablo Bay, includes 238 acres of marshes and coastal prairie land. The property is the only possible path for the San Francisco Bay Trail to connect in the area. The Bay Trail project will form an unbroken pathway along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Bay Area Wetlands LLC bought the Breuner property in 2000 and intended to sell it to the highest bidding developer....

Building plans for Walmart Supercenters in Perris and Yucca Valley were suspended after the Center for Biological Diversity and others filed lawsuits against the retailer in 2007 and 2008. Citing a violation of CEQA, these groups argued that Walmart’s EIR did not adequately evaluate the greenhouse gas impacts its new stores would have on climate change. A settlement was reached in 2010 when Walmart agreed to install rooftop solar panels,...