The federal district court for the District of Colorado agreed with federal respondents that the Federal Power Act (FPA) required that petitioners’ challenges to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) actions authorizing a dam project in Colorado be brought in a federal court of appeal. The district court noted that the FPA vests federal courts of appeal with exclusive jurisdiction to review not only the licensing orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) but also “all issues inhering in the controversy” related to a FERC order. In this case, the court found that the Corps, FERC, and FWS decisions were “inextricably intertwined.” The court therefore dismissed the case—which alleged, among other things, that the federal agencies failed to take into account climate change impacts and future climate change models—for lack of jurisdiction.

Challenge to dam project in Boulder County in Colorado.

Save the Colorado v. Semonite

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Federal Court Dismissed Challenge to Colorado Dam Project Authorizations for Lack of Jurisdiction

Filed

United States of America

Colorado

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Federal Court Dismissed Challenge to Colorado Dam Project Authorizations for Lack of Jurisdiction

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience