National Wildlife Refuge Association v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

National Wildlife Refuge Association and three other conservation groups filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Western District of Wisconsin challenging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers actions in connection with approvals for a 101-mile high-voltage transmission line running from Iowa to a substation in Wisconsin. The Corps used general permits rather than individual permits for the project. The conservation groups asserted claims under NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Under NEPA, the plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the final EIS for transmission line did not adequately analyze additional greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts that would be attributable to the line’s construction and the electricity it would carry.