Black Warrior Riverkeeper Inc. et al v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers et al

On December 14, 2018, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Alabama Rivers Alliance, and Friends of the Black Warrior filed suit in federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, challenging its issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to Drummond Company. The permit authorized the filling of streams and wetlands for a proposed coal mine on the Black Warrior River's Locust Fork tributaries. Plaintiffs contended the Corps’ environmental assessment violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act by failing to adequately analyze cumulative impacts, threats to endangered species, and water quality degradation. The district court agreed, granting summary judgment for the plaintiffs on September 30, 2020. The court vacated the permit and remanded the matter to the Corps with instructions to prepare a full environmental impact statement, halting the mining project pending a thorough review.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on September 30, 2020. The court vacated the Clean Water Act permit issued to Drummond Company and remanded the case to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ordering the preparation of a comprehensive environmental impact statement before any new permit could be approved.

Whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental assessment and subsequent issuance of a Section 404 dredge-and-fill permit adequately considered cumulative environmental impacts and alternatives as required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act.

The ruling safeguarded the Black Warrior River watershed, a critical drinking water source for Birmingham and surrounding communities, by ensuring stricter environmental scrutiny of coal mining. It reinforced the vital role of citizen suits in enforcing NEPA and the Clean Water Act, setting a significant precedent that compels federal agencies to fully evaluate the cumulative environmental consequences of extractive industry permits.