Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Wood
United States District Court for the District of Oregon
947 F. Supp. 1371 (1996)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (defendant) issued a permit to Hyundai under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to fill 10.4 acres of wetland to construct a semiconductor facility in Eugene, Oregon. The project was not water dependent. In the permit, the Corps listed detailed explanations for Hyundai building the semiconductor facility in Eugene, including proximity to customers, suppliers, and a major university. The Corps also stated that Hyundai had considered seven alternative sites in Eugene. The Corps concluded that issuance of the permit was in the public interest, after considering the environmental and human impacts of the project, the cumulative impacts, and thousands of pages of comments from the public and from state and federal agencies drawn from 1,200 comment letters and testimony from 200 public hearings. Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NWED) (plaintiff) challenged the permit, arguing the Corps violated the Clean Water Act by defining the project’s purpose too narrowly and that the need for a semiconductor facility was outweighed by the public’s interest in protecting the wetlands.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hogan, C.J.)
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