Seventh Circuit Draws Roadmap for Section 404 Review of Major Infrastructure Projects
Highlights
A recent Seventh Circuit opinion provides a useful roadmap for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ review of major infrastructure projects under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. See Hoosier Envt’l Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, 722 F.3d 1053 (7th Cir. 2013).
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The decision, authored by Judge Richard Posner, sets a significant precedent for large infrastructure projects requiring a Section 404 permit. Most significantly, the decision affirms that the Corps may rely on the reasoned analysis of other governmental agencies regarding the existence of less environmentally damaging practicable alternatives. |
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The opinion also allows the Corps to grant a permit for a single section of a larger project where permitting for the entire project would be unmanageable, and the record demonstrates that another federal agency prepared a comprehensive analysis of the larger project and decided that implementation of that project can go forward in distinct phases. |
