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1979: Snail Darter Exemption Case
In the mid-1970s a small fish in Tennessee made national headlines. Water impoundments
on the Little Tennessee River behind the nearly completed Tellico dam threatened
to eradicate the only known population of the snail darter (a fish related to perch),
which was listed as endangered under the ESA.In 1976, the case of Tennessee Valley
Authority v. Hill was filed in an effort to protect the fish. In 1978, the
case reached the Supreme Court. As originally enacted, the ESA contained an absolute
prohibition against activities detrimental to listed species. The Supreme Court
concluded that the ESA did apply in this case, and the legislation under review
(the ESA) indicated beyond doubt that Congress intended endangered species to be
afforded the highest of priorities, and mandated that the gates of the dam not be
closed
A month after this Supreme Court decision, the ESA was amended by Congress to include
a process by which economic impacts could be reviewed and projects exempted from
the restrictions that otherwise would apply. In late 1978, an exemption was sought
using the new amendment and the Endangered Species Committee. After going through
the exemption process, in early 1979 the ESC denied an exemption in the snail darter
case; the dam project remained on hold because of the fish.
Then, in late 1979, Tennesse Sen. Howard Baker and Rep. John Duncan Sr., tacked
an amendment to the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, which exempted
Tellico from the ESA and other laws. As a result, workers at Tellico closed the
gates of the dam, allowing the reservoir to begin filling. In 1984 the Fish and
Wildlife Service rescinded the designation of the Tellico dam area as critical habitat
for the snail darter, because the species no longer existed in that area. The snail
darter classification under the ESA was also later changed from endangered to threatened,
because several other small populations of the species were found elsewhere in the
Tennessee River Watershed.
Source:
USDA Forest Service. “Spotted Owl Background Information.”
USDA Forest Service, Public Affairs Office; June 15, 1990.
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