Missouri v. U.S. Department of the Interior–Bureau of Reclamation

The federal district court for the Western District of Missouri granted summary judgment to defendants in the State of Missouri's challenge to the environmental review for the Central ND Project, a water diversion project to supply water to municipal, rural, and industrial users in North Dakota. The court found that the plaintiff did not prove that the defendants failed to adequately consider or disclose the project's adverse impacts. The court's decision did not address the complaint's allegation that the finding of no significant impact did not support its statement that the project would not substantively contribute to climate change.

The State of Missouri filed a federal court lawsuit charging that the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a North Dakota agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act when they authorized the Central ND Project, which would divert water from the Missouri River. Missouri alleged that the Finding of No Significant Impact for the project “stated, without proper analysis,” that the project would not substantively contribute to climate change or affect park lands, farming lands, wetlands, wild and scenic rivers, or ecologically critical areas.