Hoosier Environmental Council, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

The citizens of Harrison County, Indiana, voted for, and the general assembly approved, a riverboat-gambling casino in Harrison County. The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) was established by the general assembly to regulate the state’s riverboat-gambling industry and determine who will be granted a gambling license. The IGC would grant an applicant a Certificate of Stability (COS) if the IGC determined the application complied with Indiana gaming law and would provide a positive economic impact on Indiana. A COS was necessary to apply for a permit to develop its riverboat operation from the Army Corps of Engineers (the corps) (defendant). The IGC granted RDI/Caesars Riverboat Casino, LLC (Caesars) a COS. Caesars applied for a permit from the corps. The district engineer of the corps conducted a public-interest review to decide whether to issue the permit. The district engineer included economics in a list of factors that he found the Caesars’s project would not adversely impact. The district engineer also found that economic benefits would accrue from Caesars’s project. In 1998, the corps issued a permit to Caesars pursuant to § 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizing the placement of fill material in the Ohio River to facilitate the development of a permanent mooring facility to service a riverboat casino. Hoosier Environmental Council, Inc. (Hoosier) (plaintiff) filed an action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for review of the corps’ grant of the § 404 permit. Hoosier argued the public-interest review of the corps failed to consider the socio-economic costs of gambling. Hoosier asserted such costs included the impacts of compulsive gambling, alcohol consumption, crime, and other social issues. Hoosier also asserted the corps failed to meaningfully consider the economic impacts of the proposal. Hoosier and the corps both moved for summary judgment.