ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20046
No(s). 18-cv-03258-CMA (D. Colo. Apr 3, 2025) (Arguello, J.)

A district court enjoined construction on a dam expansion project in Colorado in environmental groups' challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a dredge and fill permit. The court previously held the Corps failed to comply with the CWA and NEPA when it issued the permit. The court subsequently considered the appropriate remedy, and found remand with vacatur was appropriate because the Corps' violations were serious and necessitated that it redefine the project purpose, consider alternatives that had been eliminated without analysis, reassess its "least environmentally damaging practicable alternative," use a supported cost metric, and seriously consider the implications of climate change data. It remanded with vacatur the Corps' record of decision, final EIS, and dredge and fill permit, enjoined further construction on the dam pending a hearing on what is reasonable and necessary to make the current existing structure safe, and permanently enjoined enlargement of the reservoir, including tree removal, water diversion, and impacts to wildlife.