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CONFEDERATED TRIBES AND BANDS v. F.E.R.C.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1984) | 746 F.2d 466
TL;DR: An agency issued a 40-year hydropower dam license without first fully studying its impact on fish populations, deferring the issue to a separate proceeding. The court invalidated the license, holding that federal law requires such environmental considerations *before* a final licensing decision is made.
Legal Significance: Establishes that an agency cannot defer its statutory duty to consider environmental impacts until after a major licensing decision. Pre-licensing analysis under the Federal Power Act and NEPA is a mandatory, non-discretionary procedural prerequisite, not a post-hoc consideration.