ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20146
No(s). 22-60397 (5th Cir. Sep 6, 2023)

The Fifth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review the Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a CWA permit for a proposed liquefied natural gas production and export terminal on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana. The groups argued the Corps failed to adequately consider a particular alternative site and thus failed to demonstrate that the project was the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative, and that it failed to adequately justify its deviation from the CWA hierarchy of compensatory mitigation schemes. The court found that the groups did not timely alert the Corps to the alternative site and thus were not able to challenge the permit issuance on that ground, and that the Corps adequately explained its decision to depart from the default regulatory hierarchy regarding compensatory mitigation. It denied the petition.