SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento-based U.S. District Court has ordered a halt to all dredging at the Port of Stockton, dealing a blow to a massive expansion plan.
Environmental groups sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Stockton last month to stop the dredging of the San Joaquin River, claiming the Corps had failed to properly examine the potential harm to those living near the port and to the river and its threatened fish species.
In his ruling late Wednesday, District Court Judge Frank Damrell characterized the Corps’ decision to issue the dredging permit “arbitrary and capricious.”