A coalition of state and national conservation groups have filed a brief urging the Hawai'i Supreme Court to hear an appeal on a case that would require the owners of Turtle Bay Resort to produce a new environmental impact statement for a planned expansion.

The appeal specifically seeks a review of the 2-1 decision by the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, which said no update to the EIS is needed unless the project changes, regardless of if the project's environmental surroundings have changed since the original EIS was produced.

The six organizations that filed the brief through the nonprofit Earthjustice are the Conservation Council of Hawaii, the Surfrider Foundation, Hawai'i's Thousand Friends, Life of the Land, Maui Tomorrow Foundation and KAHEA: The Hawai'i Environmental Alliance.