ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20128
No(s). 3:17-cv-398-J-34MCR (M.D. Fla. May 26, 2020) (Howard, J.)

A district court granted summary judgment for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a challenge to its proposal to dredge a portion of a harbor located in the Lower St. Johns River. An environmental group argued that the Corps violated NEPA by failing to analyze the present effects of past dredging activities in the river with respect to salinity impacts on wetlands, and failing to prepare a supplemental EIS to address new information stemming from Hurricane Irma. The court found that while the Corps could have done more to examine the dredging's effects, the group did not provide any basis for a finding that the agency failed to take the required "hard look" at the potential cumulative effects. It further found that the group failed to show what new information about dredging impacts could be gained from further study in light of Hurricane Irma. The court therefore granted summary judgment for the Corps.