Ass'n of Irritated Residents v. Kern Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors

*717 Plaintiffs challenge the County of Kern's certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) and approval of a project to modify an oil refinery in Bakersfield so it can unload two unit trains (104 cars) of crude oil per day, equating to 150,000 barrels. The refinery is authorized to process 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day and the balance of unloaded crude (80,000 barrels per day) would be sent to other refineries by pipeline. A controversial aspect of the proposed project is the transportation of crude oil from the *718 Bakken formation in North Dakota. Compared to heavier crudes, Bakken crude may be more volatile and likely to explode in the event of a rail accident.

Plaintiffs contend the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. 1 ) was violated because the EIR (1) erroneously used the refinery's operational volume from 2007 as the baseline instead of the conditions existing in 2013 when the notice of preparation of the EIR was published; (2) incorrectly relied upon the refinery's participation in California's cap-and-trade program to conclude the project's greenhouse gas emissions would be less than significant; and (3)…