Description: Challenge to coal-to-liquid fuel plant.
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Natural Resources Defense Council v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/31/2010 Memorandum Opinion and Order Download Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment denied; defendants' motion for summary judgment granted. Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to a company to build a coal-to-liquid fuel plant in Ohio. Among other things, plaintiffs alleged that the Corps violated NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act in issuing the permit. The Corps moved to dismiss. With respect to NEPA, the Corps limited its review to the filling of U.S. waters to construct the plant and issued a “finding of no significant impact” under NEPA. Consequently, it did not complete an environmental impact statement (EIS). Plaintiffs alleged that the Corps erred in limiting its scope of review and that it should have considered all of the environmental impacts of the project, including greenhouse gas emissions from the plant. The court disagreed, finding that the Corps properly conducted its review given that its jurisdiction was limited to review of U.S. waters and granted the motion to dismiss.