ELR Citation: ELR 20353
No(s). LR-70-C-203 (E.D. Ark. May 5, 1972)

An injunction restraining construction of an earth embankment dam across the Cossatot River in Arkansas is dissolved upon the filing of an environmental impact statement by the Corps of Engineers. The injunction is based on five separate memorandum opinions reported together at 1 ELR 20130. Although the court finds that the impact statement misstates the facts in regard to resulting canoeing and floating conditions, and in regard to a request by the state of Arkansas for designation of the Cossatot as a "scenic river," the impact statement is sufficient to alert the decisionmaker to relevant problems. The court also finds that no misrepresentations were consciously made, so that the impact statement meets the required standard of objectivity. NEPA creates neither the possibility of judicial decisionmaking nor of continual delay, but is intended only to provide a record upon which a decisionmaker can arrive at an informed decision.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Richard S. Arnold
Arnold & Arnold
P.O. Box 1938
Texarkana, AR 75501

Edward Lee Rogers
P.O. Drawer 740
Stony Brook, NY 11790

Counsel for Defendants
W.H. Dillahunty U.S. Attorney
P.O. Box 1229
Little Rock, AR 77203