ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20019
No(s). 20-2159 (4th Cir. Feb 3, 2022)

The Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded FWS' biological opinion and incidental take statement for a proposed natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia. Environmental groups argued FWS failed to adequately consider the pipeline's environmental context while analyzing impacts to the endangered Roanoke logperch and candy darter. The court found that the Service failed to adequately evaluate the environmental baseline for the species in the "action area" and failed to properly evaluate cumulative effects impacting the species, and thus that its no-jeopardy conclusions were necessarily arbitrary. It vacated the biological opinion and incidental take statement, and remanded for further proceedings.