SEATTLE — A national food group is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alleging it is allowing commercial shellfish aquaculture to expand in Washington state without adequate environmental scrutiny.
The Center for Food Safety said the Corps violated federal laws when it approved a general permit in January for shellfish operations without fully considering cumulative environmental impacts of shellfish operations across the state. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Seattle.
“We’re really concerned that it’s going to be a rubber stamp situation,” said Amy van Saun, an attorney for the nonprofit group based in Portland.
The agency didn’t properly weigh environmental impacts from so many shellfish aquaculture activities, and should have done a full environment review, she said.
The “permit allows for greatly increased conversion of tidelands into intensive shellfish operations without protections for crucial aquatic habitats,” the lawsuit said.
Corps spokeswoman Patricia Graesser on Friday declined to comment.
The agency has said its so-called nationwide permit 48 was “revised to provide greater flexibility in its use.” The permit is designed to provide expedited review of projects that have minimal impact on the aquatic environment.
In issuing the permit in March, the Army Corps said that the terms and conditions will ensure that commercial shellfish aquaculture activities “will result in no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects.”
But opponents argue that the Corps fails to consider that together such shellfish aquaculture operations will have a major impact.
The group said in its lawsuit that shellfish farming can harm the environment by removing eelgrass beds; dense shellfish farms can hamper shoreline biodiversity; and the use of nets, plastic tubes and other gear pose challenges to wildlife.
