The federal district court for the District of South Carolina granted summary judgment to defendants on claims challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for a mixed-use residential and commercial development on the Cainhoy Peninsula near Charleston, South Carolina. Under the Clean Water Act, the court found that the Corps did not act arbitrarily and capriciously by determining that the project was the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative. The court also deferred to the Corps’ determination that the project would not lead to significant degradation of the waters of the United States and found that the Corps’ public interest review carefully considered the project’s benefits of housing, public services, and conservation “as compared to foreseeable detriments such as increased flooding.” Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the court found that “ample citations to the administrative record” reflected that the Corps considered impacts that the plaintiffs contended the defendants failed to consider, including impacts arising from climate change and sea level rise. The court also found that the plaintiffs had abandoned their Endangered Species Act and Administrative Procedure Act claims against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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

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South Carolina Federal Court Rejected Challenge to Wetlands Permit for Mixed-Use Development Near Charleston

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

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Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

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The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

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Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

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Electricity generation from devices driven by the movement of salt water, differences in saltwater temperatures, or salinity gradients.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

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Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

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South Carolina Federal Court Rejected Challenge to Wetlands Permit for Mixed-Use Development Near Charleston

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Economic sector