Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
701 F.2d 1011 (1983)
The Army Corps of Engineers (defendant) prepared environmental impact statements for the 'Westway' highway project along Manhattan's Hudson River, describing the area to be filled with landfill as a 'biological wasteland,' despite objections from the EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, who argued the Corps relied on outdated data and that newer studies showed rich populations of juvenile striped bass and other fish in the area; the Corps refused to prepare a supplemental EIS incorporating this newer data. The Sierra Club and businesses (plaintiffs) sued to halt construction, the district court enjoined the project pending a supplemental EIS, and the defendants appealed.
Whether a federal agency violates the National Environmental Policy Act if it issues an Environmental Impact Statement that fails to adequately inform the public and decision-makers of the environmental factors involved in the project, including failure to include up-to-date scientific data relevant to the major federal action proposed.