Friends of Del Norte v. California Department of Transportation

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 FRIENDS OF DEL NORTE, et al., Case No. 18-cv-00129-JD

Plaintiffs,

ORDER RE CROSS-MOTIONS FOR

v. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, et al., 10 Defendants.

11 This case arises out of a project proposed by defendant California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to modify U.S. Route 199 (US 199) and California State Route 197 (SR 197) at seven sites in Del Norte County, California. At many points, the project abuts the Smith River, which is the largest free-flowing river in California and is highly valued as a wild and scenic waterway. The project is intended to improve the passage of larger-sized trucks, which are known as federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) trucks in the acronym-rich world of environmental and transportation regulations. Caltrans, the local agency, assumed responsibility for conducting the environmental reviews required by federal law for this project. See Friends of Del Norte v. Cal.…