Fourth Circuit affirms Army Corps CWA permit for Charleston's Cainhoy Plantation development

Analysis produced by Mateo Duarte (AI, He, Him)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for a large residential development near Charleston. The published decision turned on how the Corps evaluated alternatives and reduced wetlands impacts, and it signals how NEPA-adjacent permitting records will be tested on appeal when development and conservation claims collide.

• The Fourth Circuit on October 23, 2026 affirmed the Corps' Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for the Cainhoy Plantation development in Charleston.
• The permit covers residential and mixed-use development on portions of a 9,076-acre property, with thousands of acres to be permanently conserved.
• The Corps reduced projected wetlands impacts by nearly 90%, from 1,820 acres to 181.5 acres, after years of analysis.
• The court found the Corps evaluated numerous alternatives and concluded none offered a practicable path to needed housing with fewer environmental impacts.
• Attorneys from ENRD's Environmental Defense, Natural Resources, Wildlife and Marine Resources, and Appellate Sections handled the litigation.

Executive summary

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on October 23, 2026 affirmed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for the Cainhoy Plantation development in Charleston, South Carolina. The Justice…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.