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Administrative Law Keyed to Funk
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe
Citation:
401 U.S. 402, 91 S. Ct. 814, 28 L. Ed. 2d 136 (1971)Facts
Overton Park is a 342-acre city park located near the center of Memphis, containing a zoo, golf course, outdoor theater, nature trails, and 170 acres of forest. In 1956, the Bureau of Public Roads approved a route for Interstate Highway I-40 through the park. After the passage of the Department of Transportation Act in 1966 and the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1968, which restricted the use of parkland for highway construction, the Secretary of Transportation approved the route through Overton Park in 1969. The Secretary did not issue formal findings explaining why there were no feasible and prudent alternatives to using the parkland or why the selected design could not be modified to reduce harm to the park. When challenged in court, the Secretary defended his decision with affidavits prepared specifically for the litigation. The lower courts upheld the Secretary’s decision, finding that formal findings were unnecessary and that the courts’ authority to review such decisions was limited.
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