LACMTA won't have to redo Expo Line's environmental study, court rules

California's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LACMTA) Expo Line Construction Authority in a lawsuit concerning the project's environmental study.

The court's ruling, issued Monday, means the Expo Line Construction Authority will not have to redo parts of its environmental study on the project and construction can continue to proceed, according to LACMTA's blog, "The Source."

The ruling involved a lawsuit filed by Neighbors for Smart Rail against the Expo Line's second phase. The group alleged that the project's environmental study fell short in some areas. On those points, the court determined the authority sufficiently studied the impact of spillover parking near stations, and that transportation agencies have the discretion under certain circumstances to measure the project's traffic and air quality impacts against future conditions, the blog stated.

Although the Expo Line study is based on conditions anticipated in 2030, the court indicated the authority also should have measured the line's traffic and air quality effects against anticipated conditions in 2015, when the project is scheduled to be completed. However, the court also determined that "insubstantial" technical error did not affect informed decision-making about the project's impacts, the blog reported.

The Expo Line project calls for extending light-rail service 6.6 miles from Culver City to downtown Santa Monica.