Tennessee Valley

TVA v. Hill Questions

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?

The Supreme Court acted correctly in its decidedly rigid invocation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to its decision, Section 7 asserts that "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." (U.S. Supreme Court, p. 1)

Given that $100 million of federal funds had already been funneled into the Tellico Dam project, it is clear that Congress was explicitly responsible for...
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