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Environmental organizations American Whitewater and American Rivers are vigorously opposing efforts by federal agencies and CSX Transportation Inc. to dismiss their ongoing lawsuit challenging the legality of CSX’s reconstruction work in Tennessee’s Nolichucky River Gorge.

The lawsuit, known as the Environmental Lawsuit CSX Rebuild, centers on the claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service unlawfully approved CSX's post-Hurricane Helene rebuilding project. The plaintiffs assert these approvals were issued arbitrarily and capriciously, violating multiple federal environmental laws.

In a legal brief filed Friday, the environmental groups responded to dismissal motions, stating the agencies and CSX failed to address the core allegations. The groups maintain their complaint plausibly alleges violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA).

The original suit, filed in November 2024, alleges that CSX unlawfully operated heavy machinery in a fragile river ecosystem without proper environmental review, and that federal agencies improperly permitted the work. The agencies’ approval, the plaintiffs argue, contradicted legal requirements and forest management plans.

CSX, which joined the case as an intervenor defendant, is seeking full dismissal. Meanwhile, federal agencies are challenging specific aspects of the claims, particularly those involving species protection and water impact permitting.

Among the key issues in the case:

• CSX’s rail line is allegedly not a "currently serviceable structure," yet it is benefiting from exemptions that only apply to such structures.

• The Corps of Engineers is accused of exceeding its authority by issuing multiple Nationwide Permits for what should be considered a single project.

• The Fish and Wildlife Service's emergency determination allowing work without a full biological opinion is being challenged as a dangerous loophole that undermines the ESA.

• The Forest Service is alleged to have violated forestry plans by permitting CSX’s operations on national forest lands.

The plaintiffs emphasize that their complaint is not about permit violations per se, but about the legality of the agencies' decisions to issue the permits in the first place. They argue that the actions constitute final agency decisions and are subject to judicial review.

Legal counsel for the environmental groups includes J. Patrick Hunter, Sam Evans, and Clara Derby of the Southern Environmental Law Center. Government defendants are represented by attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. CSX is represented by McGuireWoods LLP.

The case, American Whitewater et al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers et al., is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina under case number 1:24-cv-00284.