Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council
United States Supreme Court
490 U.S. 332 (1989)
The Forest Service (defendant) prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) under NEPA before permitting a ski resort in a national forest, assessing effects on wildlife and outlining possible mitigation measures, and issued the special-use permit as recommended. Methow Valley Citizens Council and other groups (plaintiffs) challenged the permit, and the appellate court sided with them, holding the EIS was inadequate because the Forest Service hadn't fully developed its mitigation measures before approving the project and hadn't performed a worst-case-scenario analysis of the impact on the local mule-deer population. The Chief of the Forest Service (Robertson), who had affirmed the permit on internal appeal, sought Supreme Court review.
Whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires a fully developed plan detailing the specific steps that will be taken to mitigate adverse environmental impacts, along with a worst-case-scenario analysis.