Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Five environmental organizations filed suit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the reissuance of Nationwide Permit 12, a general permit for oil and gas pipeline projects issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The organizations asserted violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Under the ESA, the complaint alleged that reissuance of the permit required programmatic ESA Section 7 consultation because the permit would allow activities that result in direct harm to listed species as well as indirect impacts associated with oil spills and climate change. Under NEPA, the complaint alleged that the Corps failed to take the requisite hard look at the significant environmental effects of the projects permitted or authorized by the permit.