Plans to establish a $1.5 billion Stryker brigade in the Islands have been delayed after a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 yesterday that the Army violated environmental laws when it failed to consider other sites to headquarter the 19-ton armored vehicles.

In its decision, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Army must complete a supplementary environmental analysis to consider alternatives to setting up a brigade in the Islands.

"This means there is finally going to be an informed decision, rather than one made in a vacuum," said David Henkin, an attorney for Earthjustice in Hawai'i, which represents three Hawaiian groups in the case. "It's huge."

the majority opinion of the 9th Circuit said the Army violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it chose Hawai'i for a Stryker brigade, failing to examine alternatives in the "programmatic" or "site-specific" environmental impact statements.

"The Army can't have it both ways," the court said. "Either it needed to explain in the PEIS its decision to transform the 2nd Brigade in Hawai'i and consider reasonable alternatives in the PEIS or it needed to explain that decision in the SEIS."

Vicky Holt Takamine, of the Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, said the Stryker brigade stands to do major damage to significant cultural sites and fragile ecosystems.

"We cannot be the dumping grounds for all of your bombs, and all of your live-fire," she said, adding she was "ecstatic" about yesterday's ruling.

"The Army has to be looking at a long-term relationship. They need to start complying and start looking at our impact on our 'aina," she said.

She said she is concerned the supplementary analysis the Army is required to complete will not be objective, and added she would prefer an independent third party complete it. She also said she wants more from the community involved in discussions.

The Army can now ask the panel to revisit the question, ask for a review by the full court, appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or allow the decision to stand.

The federal appeals court also rejected the Army's arguments that Hawaii's strategic location was unique, since there are Stryker units in Alaska and Washington that could have supported the 2nd Brigade. In addition, federal appeals judges were not swayed by Army arguments that Hawaii's jungle terrain justified stationing Strykers in Hawaii, because the combat vehicles are best suited for urban combat.