Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill

437 U.S. 153 (1978)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Tennessee Valley Authority (D) began constructing the Tellico Dam and Reservoir Project in 1967. The construction has been virtually completed, and the dam is essentially ready for operation. Progress was delayed and ultimately stopped, by a tangle of lawsuits and administrative proceedings. After unsuccessfully urging D to consider alternatives to damming the Little Tennessee, local citizens and national conservation groups brought suit claiming that the project did not conform to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). After finding D to be in violation of NEPA, the District Court enjoined the dam's completion pending the filing of an appropriate environmental impact statement. The District Court concluded that D's final environmental impact statement for Tellico was in compliance with the law. It was then that a discovery was made in the waters of the Little Tennessee which would profoundly affect the Tellico Project. A University of Tennessee ichthyologist, Dr. David A. Etnier, found a previously unknown species of perch, the snail darter, or Percina (Imostoma) tanasi. This three-inch, tannish-colored fish, whose numbers are estimated to be in the range of 10,000 to 15,000, would soon engage the attention of environmentalists, D, the Department of the Interior, the Congress of the United States, and ultimately the federal courts, as a new and additional basis to halt construction of the dam. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to declare species of animal life 'endangered' and to identify the 'critical habitat' of these creatures. All Federal departments and agencies, upon a finding of endangerment, were commanded to ensure 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, after consultation as appropriate with the affected States, to be critical. The act covers every animal and plant species, subspecies, and population in the world needing protection. Hill (Ps) petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to list the snail darter as an endangered species. The Secretary formally listed the snail darter as an endangered species on October 8, 1975. The Secretary declared the area of the Little Tennessee which would be affected by the Tellico Dam to be the 'critical habitat' of the snail darter. Ps sought to enjoin completion of the dam and impoundment of the reservoir on the ground that those actions would violate the Act by directly causing the extinction of the species Percina (Imostoma) tanasi. The District Court denied the request for a preliminary injunction and set the matter for trial. the court entered its memorandum opinion and order denying respondents their requested relief and dismissing the complaint. The Court of Appeals held that the record revealed a prima facie violation of § 7 of the Act, namely that D had failed to take 'such action . . . necessary to ensure' that its 'actions' did not jeopardize the snail darter or its critical habitat. It reversed. D appealed.