ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20190
No(s). 16-826L (Fed. Cl. Oct 25, 2021) (Kaplan, J.)

The Court of Federal Claims entered judgment for the U.S. government in a takings challenge against FWS for rerouting spring waters that had previously flowed through church property into a restoration channel in an effort to save a native fish species. The church argued the berm FWS installed upstream of its property to divert water into the restoration channel caused recurrent flooding on the property, and that the diversion resulted in a total physical taking of its property for which just compensation was owed. The court found that the church neither proved the government's construction of the berm and restoration channel caused the flooding on its property, nor proved the flooding would not have occurred but for the diversion. It therefore entered judgment for the government.