ELR Citation: ELR 20456
No(s). 72 C 584(4) (E.D. Mo. Mar 19, 1975)

After a full trial on the merits, the court denies plaintiffs' plea for injunctive and declaratory relief against an Army Corps of Engineers project to build a dam on the Meramec River near St. Louis and awards defendants costs. In finding all plaintiff's allegations of noncompliance with NEPA, the FWPCA, and the Endangered Species Act unsupported by the evidence, the court emphasizes a continuing history of congressional appropriation for the dam, maintaining that it is Congress' responsibility to determine whether the project is proceeding in accordance with its authorization. While admitting its own responsibility to determine whether the actual cost-benefit analysis was arbitrary or gave insufficient weight to environmental values, the court again notes congressional authorization as well as the sheer volume of the EIS in deciding that the Corps complied with NEPA in good faith.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Alan C. Kohn
Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum
411 North Seventh Street
St. Louis, MO 63101

Counsel for Defendants
Donald J. Stohr U.S. Attorney
U.S. Courthouse
1114 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63101

Counsel for Amicus Curiae Meramec Basin Association
John W. howald
Thurman, Nixon, Smith, Howald, Weber & Bowles
One Thurman Court
Hillsboro, MO 63050