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South Carolina Coastal Conservation League v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Filing Date: 2022
Case Categories:
  • Federal Statutory Claims
    • Endangered Species Act and Other Wildlife Protection Statutes
  • Federal Statutory Claims
    • Clean Water Act
  • Federal Statutory Claims
    • NEPA
  • Adaptation
    • Actions seeking adaptation measures
Principal Laws:
Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA)
Description: Challenge to the issuance of a Clean Water Act permit authorizing the filling of wetlands for construction of a mixed-use residential and commercial development in South Carolina.
  • South Carolina Coastal Conservation League v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    Docket number(s): 2:22-cv-02727
    Court/Admin Entity: D.S.C.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    08/17/2022 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Environmental Groups Challenged Permit for Mixed-Use Development on Wetlands in South Carolina. A lawsuit filed by three South Carolina-based environmental groups challenged the issuance of a Clean Water Act permit authorizing the filling of wetlands for construction of a mixed-use residential and commercial development in Berkeley County near Charleston. The plaintiffs asserted claims under the Clean Water Act, NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Under the ESA, their arguments included that the biological opinion for the project failed to consider the impacts of climate change on the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Under the Clean Water Act, the plaintiffs contended, among other arguments, that the permit allowed for significant degradation of wetlands that would make residents more vulnerable to flooding and that unnecessary placement of development in locations vulnerable to future sea level rise, flooding, and storm surge would have significant adverse economic effects. Under NEPA, the plaintiffs asserted that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to take a hard look at the project’s impacts and that the proposed project required an environmental impact statement, including because of “unique risks posed regarding flooding and development within the floodplain.”

© 2023 · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law · U.S. Litigation Chart made in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The materials on this website are intended to provide a general summary of the law and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.