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As mentioned in the lecture, in 1973, construction of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River was order halted by a federal court over a controversy surrounding a newly discovered species of perch called a snail darter. In the decades leading up to the Tellico Dam controversy, the value of dam building was largely unquestioned. However, as attitudes toward dams and the environment changed in the early 1970s, the dam building era came to a close. It is now thought that too many dams were built and there is talk of decommissioning many dams throughout the country. The Tellico Dam lawsuit continues to be one of the most famous environmental controversies in history.
The lawsuit, Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978), required the United States Supreme Court to interpret the Endangered Species Act.
The Court summarized the case as follows:
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in 4 to declare a species of life "endangered." Section 7 specifies that all "Federal departments and agencies shall, . . . with the assistance of the Secretary, utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of [the] Act by carrying out programs for the conservation of endangered species . . . and by taking such action necessary to insure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by them do not jeopardize the continued existence of such endangered species and threatened species or result in the destruction or modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the Secretary . . . to be critical." Shortly after the Act's passage the Secretary was petitioned to list a small fish popularly known as the snail darter as an endangered species under the Act. Thereafter the Secretary made the designation. Having determined that the snail darter apparently lives only in that portion of the Little Tennessee River that would be completely inundated by the impoundment of the reservoir created as a consequence of the completion of the Tellico Dam, he declared that area as the snail darter's "critical habitat." Notwithstanding the near completion of the multimillion-dollar dam, the Secretary issued a regulation in which it was declared that, pursuant to 7, "all Federal agencies must take such action as is necessary to ensure that actions authorized, funded, or carried out by them do not result in the destruction or modification of this critical habitat area." Respondents brought this suit to enjoin completion of the dam and impoundment of the reservoir, claiming that those actions would violate the Act by causing the snail darter's extinction.
In other words, the Secretary of the Interior identified the snail darter as an endangered species, and the area immediately downstream of the Tellico Dam was critical habitat for the snail darter. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are required to ensure their actions do not destroy or modify critical habitat.
Environmentalists argued the Endangered Species Act prevented completion of the dam, despite the facts that construction on the dam began before the Act was passed, the snail darter was not listed until after construction was underway, and over $100 million had been spent on the dam, which was about 80% complete. Relying on the language of the Endangered Species Act, the Supreme Court ordered construction on the dam enjoined, stating that the Act did not make any exception for a project that was underway before Congress passed the Endangered Species Act. The Court also stated the in adopting the Act, Congress clearly intended to halt and reserve the trend, whatever the cost. The Court simply refused to “ignore the plain meaning of plain language.” In response to the Court’s decision in TVA v. Hill, Congress amended the Endangered Species Act to exclude the Tellico Dam.
1. Do you agree with the Court’s decision, based upon the language of the Endangered Species Act quoted above? That is, did the Endangered Species Act preclude construction of the dam? Should the ESA have precluded construction of the dam? Was Congress right to amend the ESA to permit the dam to be built?
2. Consider the goals of the Act. Should there be a hard and fast rule in these situations, or should agencies be permitted to engage in a cost-benefit analysis? Why or why not? If agencies had discretion to engage in cost-benefit analysis, wouldn’t all proposed projects be completed?
3. When should environmental or aesthetic values give way to other values, such as resource development for energy development? Where should the line be drawn?
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