Opponents to California's high speed rail project just got a boost after the California Supreme Court says federal law does not exempt state rail projects from California's strict environmental review law.
Thursday's decision means the legal battles over the $64 billion rail project championed by Gov. Jerry Brown will continue after the court said a lower court interpreted federal law too broadly when it agreed with the rail authority that federal law trumped the state's environmental review.
The high court voted 6-1 to overturn the lower court's ruling, giving renewed hope to opponents who are using California's Environmental Quality Act to challenge the proposed project to connect California cities with a high-speed rail project.