BAAQMD

Communities for a Better Environment, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Sierra Club, and Natural Resources Defense Council (collectively, CBE) filed a petition for writ of mandate and a complaint under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000) (CEQA) after respondent Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) determined that its approval for a Richmond rail-to-truck facility to transload crude oil instead of ethanol was ‘'ministerial” and exempt from CEQA review. The trial court dismissed the petition and complaint without leave to amend, concluding that the suit was time-barred under Public Resources Code section 21167, subdivision (d) (section 21167(d)).

The only issue on appeal is whether CBE can successfully amend its petition and complaint to allege that the action is timely by virtue of the discovery rule. In the typical case, the discovery rule postpones the accrual of an action from the date an injury occurs until the date the plaintiff has actual or constructive notice of the facts constituting the injury. CBE claims that it should be allowed to rely on the discovery rule here because it could not have learned about…