Description: Challenge to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reinstatement of approved jurisdictional determinations for 550 acres of wetlands “at the doorstep of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.”
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National Wildlife Refuge Association v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/13/2023 Order Download Action dismissed with prejudice pursuant to joint stipulation. The court dismissed the case with prejudice pursuant to a joint stipulation by the parties. Bloomberg Law reported that the plaintiffs' counsel said they dismissed the case because it was rendered moot by the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision regarding the scope of "waters of the United States." 09/08/2023 Stipulation Download Parties stipulated to the dismissal of action with prejudice with no concessions as to the merits of plaintiffs’ claims. -
National Wildlife Refuge Association v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/07/2023 Memorandum Opinion Download Motion to transfer to the Southern District of Georgia granted. D.C. Federal Court Transferred Environmental Group’s Challenge to Jurisdictional Determinations for Mine. The federal district court for the District of Columbia granted a motion by the developer of a heavy mineral-sands mine in Georgia to transfer a case challenging jurisdictional determinations for the project to the Southern District of Georgia. The court found that venue was proper in the Southern District of Georgia and that the interests of convenience and justice supported transfer. The court found that the challenge to the mine was “an intensely local controversy” and that the localized interests were “preeminent.” 05/24/2023 Response Download Response filed by plaintiffs in opposition to motion to transfer. 05/22/2023 Response Download Response filed by defendants to motion to transfer. 05/08/2023 Motion Download Motion to transfer to the Southern District of Georgia filed by defendant-intervenor Twin Pines Minerals, LLC. 11/15/2022 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Groups Challenged Decision that Would Allow Mining “at the Doorstep” of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Four conservation groups challenged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reinstatement of approved jurisdictional determinations for 550 acres of wetlands “at the doorstep of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.” The wetlands were previously determined to be jurisdictional “waters of the United States.” The plaintiffs alleged that the owner intended to strip-mine heavy mineral sands from the wetlands, which the plaintiffs alleged were “critical to the hydrology and ecology of the Okefenokee Swamp.” The complaint described the swamp as “one of the largest intact freshwater ecosystems in North America” and alleged that it was “a critical link in important wildlife corridors,” economically important to local residents, significant to the regional’s Native American history, and “important from a climate perspective, holding the largest remaining undisturbed peat deposit on the North American Coastal Plain,” which “stores the equivalent of over 95 million tons of carbon dioxide.”