ELR Citation: 49 ELR 20176
No(s). 18-10541 (11th Cir. Nov 4, 2019)

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court decision upholding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of four CWA §404 permits to a fertilizer manufacturer engaged in phosphate mining in Florida. The district court found nothing arbitrary or capricious about the Corps’ determination that phosphogypsum stacks fell outside the scope of its NEPA analysis. The appellate court agreed, finding it was reasonable for the Corps to conclude that the environmental effects of phosphogypsum production and storage fell outside the scope of its NEPA review because phosphogypsum-related effects were caused by the Corps’ §404 permits in only the most attenuated sense. It therefore affirmed the decision.