California Coastal Commission v. United States

Order for a Conditional Preliminary Injunction

Plaintiff California Coastal Commission seeks a preliminary injunction against defen dants United States of America, Department of the Navy, and Secretary of the Navy enjoining the disposal of dredged material from the San Diego Bay previously designated for coastal beach replenishment. This dredging of the bay is part of a homeporting project by which the Navy will base a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. Defendants oppose the motion for a preliminary injunction. After careful consideration of all the pleadings, parties’ arguments and applicable law, the court rules as follows:

BACKGROUND

This case deals with the fundamental federal policy of conforming a federal coastal project to meet the dictates, to “the maximum extent possible,” of state coastal management plans. This federal policy is codified in federal legislation known as the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) 16 U.S.C. §§ 1451 , 1456(c)(1).

Plaintiff California Coastal Commission (Commission) is the state agency responsible for review of federal agency projects for consistency with the federally approved California Coastal Management Program (CMP). The Commission reviewed…