ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20096
No(s). 2:21-cv-01527-DJC-DMC (E.D. Cal. Jul 17, 2025) (Calabretta, J.)

A district court granted in part and denied in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers' and FWS' permitting of a proposed multi-use development project in California. The groups argued FWS violated the ESA by failing to fully consider impacts to listed species in the biological opinion (BiOp) and by departing from previous agency policy regarding adequate mitigation ratios for impacts to Butte County meadowfoam; that FWS and the Corps violated the ESA by failing to assess potential impacts on the giant garter snake; that the Corps violated NEPA with an inadequate environmental analysis and failing to prepare an EIS; and that the Corps violated the CWA by failing to adopt the alternative that best avoids, minimizes, and mitigates impacts to the aquatic ecosystem while still achieving the project's purpose. The court found FWS did not act in an arbitrary and capricious manner in assessing the local meadowfoam species' population and that the BiOp properly identified and discussed threats, but that the Service failed to meaningfully address scientific data discussing climate change and its impact on other vernal pool species. The court further found the agencies did not violate the CWA because they jointly provided sufficient reasons for not considering alternatives as viable, but that their failure to consider potential effects on the giant garter snake was based on a faulty assumption that there had been no sitings of the snake within five miles of the project, rendering the BiOp arbitrary and capricious. It also found the groups failed to establish that there was sufficient environnmental debate within the agencies that would necessitate an EIS. The court vacated the BiOp and enjoined the project pending completion of a legally adequate BiOp and consultation regarding the giant garter snake.