Description: Challenge to environmental review for proposed construction of 171.4 miles of electrical transmission lines and related facilities in Maine intended to carry electricity for fulfillment of clean energy contracts with State of Massachusetts.
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Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/13/2021 Opinion Download Denial of preliminary injunction affirmed and First Circuit's January 15, 2021 injunction vacated. First Circuit Declined to Bar Construction of Power Line in Maine. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction to block construction of a segment of an electric transmission power corridor in Maine that would be part of a project to carry electricity from Quebec to Massachusetts, including electricity generated by hydropower. The First Circuit found that the plaintiffs did not show a likelihood of success on the merits of any of their claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), including their claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it concluded that the overall project was not a “major federal action” pursuant to NEPA. Because the First Circuit rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments regarding the scope of the NEPA review, the court also concluded that the plaintiffs’ contention that the greenhouse gas reductions from the overall project were overstated did not show “controversy” that would require the Corps to prepare an environmental impact statement. 02/24/2021 Reply Download Reply brief filed by appellants. 02/16/2021 Brief Download Brief filed by appellee Central Maine Power Company. 02/16/2021 Brief Download Response brief filed by federal appellees. Parties Briefed Scope of Corps of Engineers’ NEPA Review After First Circuit Paused Work on Transmission Line. After the First Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily enjoined commencement of construction for a segment of a power transmission line project in Maine, the parties completed briefing on the plaintiffs’ appeal of a district court’s denial of their motion for a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs—who challenged the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—argued that the scope of the Corps’ NEPA analysis was “overly narrow,” leading the Corps to give inadequate attention to many of the transmission line’s impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. The federal defendants argued that the Corps’ jurisdiction was narrow and touched only construction activities related to wetlands and vernal pools. The defendants contended that the Corps did not have sufficient control over the pipeline to “federalize” the project and that it therefore properly limited the scope of its NEPA review. 02/08/2021 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by Calpine Corporation et al. as amici curiae in support of appellants and reversal. The amici led by Calpine Corporation argued that "[t]he Project is likely to result in no overall reduction in GHG emissions across the interconnected electricity grid, but will merely result in a reshuffling of zero-carbon power supplied by existing resources in Québec, to new customers in New England." 02/02/2021 Brief Download Brief filed by appellants. 01/15/2021 Order Download Motion for injunction pending appeal granted. -
Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 03/26/2021 Motion Download Second motion for leave to supplement the complaint filed by plaintiffs. 12/16/2020 Order Download Motion for preliminary injunction denied. Maine Federal Court Declined to Enjoin Work on Electric Transmission Project. The federal district court for the District of Maine declined to issue a preliminary injunction barring construction of the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), an electricity transmission project to connect the New England energy grid with non-fossil fuel sources of electric power. The court found that plaintiffs had not demonstrated they were likely to prevail on their arguments that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act and failed to take concerns about impacts on waters of the United States into account. The court further found that the equitable interests of the NECEC developer undermined the plaintiff’s request for preliminary relief and that the public interest was “not monolithic,” given the asserted benefits of the NECEC project, including reducing rates, improving reliability, and reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions. 10/27/2020 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Organizations Challenged Environmental Review for Electric Transmission Project in Maine. Sierra Club and two other groups filed a lawsuit asserting that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act when the agency reviewed a proposed 171.4 miles of electrical transmission lines and related facilities in Maine. The plaintiffs alleged that evidence showed that the project—for which the “stated purpose is to fulfill long-term contracts for ‘clean energy’ projects with the State of Massachusetts”—would instead increase greenhouse gas emissions. The complaint alleged that the supplier of hydroelectric power that the project would transmit had “insufficient hydroelectric energy to provide incremental hydroelectricity to New England” and would instead “engage in arbitrage, moving sales from different markets without any real reductions in GHG emissions.” The complaint also alleged that construction and operation of hydropower “megadams” and their reservoirs increase greenhouse gas emissions and would present human rights and environmental justice issues.