Hillsdale Environmental Loss Center v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

A district court dismissed an environmental group's claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated NEPA, the CWA, and the APA by granting a CWA §404 permit to a railroad company without completing an EIS. The Corps' finding that the chosen site was the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative was not arbitrary or capricious. There was no practicable alternative that did not involve destruction of streams or wetlands, and the CWA does not require the Corps to look at impracticable sites that would not impact waters of the United States. In addition, the Corps sufficiently examined the environmental impacts of the proposed facility under NEPA, and its analysis of alternatives was adequate.