ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20155
No(s). 20-15576 (9th Cir. Aug 6, 2021)

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Army Corps of Engineers in a challenge to the Corps' proposed plans for dredging the San Francisco Bay's navigation channels. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission argued the Corps' refusal to comply with its conditions about where to dispose of dredged material and to limit dredging to two particular channels violated the CZMA, and an environmental group argued the plans also violated the CWA. A district court granted summary judgment for the Corps, finding no violations of any applicable provision of law. The appellate court found that the condition concerning where to dispose of dredged material was not itself an enforceable policy under the CZMA and its implementing regulations, and thus that the Corps was not obligated to comply with it. It further found that the Corps' final 2017 plan complied with the express terms of the condition limiting dredging in two particular channels, and thus that the plan did not violate the CZMA or the CWA. The court therefore affirmed summary judgment for the Corps.