Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, et al., v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, et al.
A federal magistrate judge recently recommended dismissing a claim against the Army Corps of Engineers regarding permits for commercial shellfish operations. The suit, brought by The Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat and The Center for Food Safety, claimed that “the Corps continues an unlawful pattern and practice of issuing [individual permits] for shellfish aquaculture operations in jurisdictional waters without properly considering their impacts . . .” The magistrate judge found this claim too generalized and recommended that the federal court dismiss the claim. Even if the recommendation is adopted in this instance, the lawsuit will continue with regard to Plaintiffs’ challenge of the Army Corps’ decision to reissue and broaden a nationwide permit that has allowed commercial shellfish aquaculture across tens of thousands of acres of Washington waters.
[To accompany Federal Court Case Law Update "Magistrate Judge Recommends Dismissing Shellfish Aquaculture Permit Claim" from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 168.]