ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20001
No(s). 2:20-cv-00396-LEW (D. Me. Dec 16, 2020) (Walker, J.)

A district court denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin construction of a power transmission line through the Western Maine Mountains. Environmental groups challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue a CWA/Rivers and Harbors Act permit for the line without preparing an EIS, arguing that a project the size and scope of the transmission line could not be permitted by the Corps unless it prepares an EIS for the entire project, describing the environmental impacts holistically and in detail and subjecting the EIS to public review and comment. The court concluded that the groups failed to show they were likely to succeed in proving that the project was a major federal action such that all environmental impacts could be identified by their members, or that the interested public must be addressed by the Corps through an EIS. It therefore denied the motion for preliminary injunction.