Description: Challenge to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Juan Bay Dredging Project, which would allow larger tankers of liquefied natural gas and petroleum to transit the Bay.
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El Puente v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 07/24/2023 Memorandum Opinion Download Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment denied and defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment granted. Federal Court Rejected Environmental Challenges to San Juan Harbor Dredging Project. The federal district court for the District of Columbia rejected claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal environmental laws when it approved a project to dredge shipping channels in San Juan Harbor and dispose of the dredged materials in an ocean disposal site. The court’s decision did not explicitly address the plaintiffs’ allegations that the project would increase imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), leading to emissions that would worsen climate change. The decision did, however, reject the argument that the Corps should have considered potential new LNG infrastructure as a “connected action.” The court also found that the Corps considered the impacts of the possibility that Puerto Rico would convert to LNG and reasonably concluded that such a conversion would result in lower air emissions. 03/24/2023 Opposition Download Plaintiffs filed opposition to defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment and reply in support of plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. 01/27/2023 Motion for Summary Judgment Download Memorandum of points and authorities filed in support of plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. 08/16/2022 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Plaintiffs Challenged Dredging Project in San Juan Bay, Alleging It Would Impair Transition from Fossil Fuels. Three organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Juan Bay Dredging Project. The plaintiffs alleged that “[t]he primary purpose of dredging is for larger tankers of liqu[e]fied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum to transit the bay” and that the Corps’ environmental review had “ignored how its decision locked in a fossil fuel pathway for Puerto Rico” and impaired a transition away from fossil fuels. They contended that the project would increase LNG imports to power plants whose emissions would worsen climate change and air pollution. They also said the project risked an increase of wave action and changes to sea level near residential areas. They asserted claims under NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.