Center for Environmental Justice vs. Director General, Coastal Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department (Mount Lavenia beach nourishment case) – CA WRT/128/20-2023

The case between Center for Environmental Justice (Guarantee Limited) and its Executive Director, Withanage Don Hemantha Ranjith Sisira Kumara (Petitioners) and various state agencies including the Director General of the Coastal Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department, the Central Environmental Authority, and others (Respondents), addressed the issue of compliance with environmental and procedural requirements for a Beach Nourishment Project. It was determined that the regulatory and administrative processes were observed correctly and that the project did not require an Environmental Impact Assessment as it was not classified as a “Prescribed Project.” The holding reaffirmed the principle that public law remedies must be grounded in clearly demonstrated legal violations.