CARLSBAD -- Plans to build a new high school in Carlsbad have hit another snag, and the project could be delayed an additional year, pushing back the opening until 2013, school officials said Wednesday.

Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told Carlsbad Unified School District officials that it has jurisdiction over a small segment of the 57-acre property because the project could affect nearby wetlands, district officials said in a statement released Wednesday.

"This is devastating news," Superintendent John Roach said in the statement.

As a result, the district will need more permits than originally expected. This will delay grading work, which was expected to start this fall, by at least a year, said Aaron Golde, a project manager for the district.

It could also require district officials to change some aspects of the campus to reduce the effects the campus could have on nearby vegetation and animals. In order to create a larger buffer between the campus and the surrounding environment, the district could have to cut back on plans for a 3,000-seat stadium or reduce the number of parking spaces at the campus, officials said.

Roach told the school board Wednesday that he hopes the district and corps can reach a compromise that doesn't require a redesign of the campus, which is expected to cost roughly $100 million.

The district's plans to build a school for as many as 1,500 students near the intersection of College Boulevard and Cannon Road have already faced some roadblocks and opposition.

District officials originally expected to open the school in August 2011. After protected plants and birds were found on the site last year, the opening date was pushed back a year.

Now, they said it probably will be fall of 2013 before classes can start at the planned campus.

"We're trapped … by the bureaucracy of the process," said Walter Freeman, assistant superintendent in charge of business services for the district. "We think we can get there. It'll just take another year, unfortunately."

The school board approved an environmental impact report for the campus in February, amid concerns and complaints from some nearby homeowners and organizations. Less than a month later, three lawsuits were filed to challenge the report. The lawsuits focused mostly on the effects the campus could have on the surrounding habitat and roads.

District officials are working to resolve those issues by reducing the number of seats in the stadium, eliminating parking spaces and increasing the buffer between the school and native vegetation, Roach said.

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.