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By Jim Saunders<\/div><\/div>\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shifted development approval for sites that include wetlands to the State of Florida, and developers praised the change, saying it cuts down lots of red tape. However, environmental groups have filed a lawsuit challenging EPA\u2019s decision.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2013 A coalition of environmental groups Thursday filed a federal lawsuit<\/a> challenging a potentially far-reaching move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shift permitting authority to Florida for projects that affect wetlands.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The coalition, represented by attorneys from the Earthjustice legal group, contends that the EPA and other federal agencies did not comply with a series of laws in making Florida the third state to have such permitting authority.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEPA is lowering the bar to allow a state, for the first time, to run the federal wetlands program without meeting federal standards,\u201d Tania Galloni, Earthjustice managing attorney for Florida, said in a prepared statement Thursday. \u201cDevelopers have called this the \u2018holy grail\u2019 because it would make it easier, faster and cheaper for them to get permits for big projects with less oversight and accountability for environmental impacts.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The EPA on Dec. 17 announced approval of the shift, which involves permitting for dredge and fill activities under part of the federal Clean Water Act. Florida lawmakers in 2018 overwhelmingly approved a bill that was an initial step in trying to move authority for the permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis in August submitted a package to the EPA seeking approval.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Supporters of the move praised the EPA\u2019s decision as helping reduce duplicative state and federal permitting and giving Florida more control over such decisions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur waters and wetlands are critical to our economy and way of life in Florida. As such, it is important for the state to be in charge and take the lead in their protection,\u201d Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein said in a statement. Valenstein\u2019s agency is now slated to oversee the permitting.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But Thursday\u2019s 51-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in the District of Columbia, alleges that federal officials violated laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis action arises from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s unlawful approval of a state application to assume jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act\u2019s Section 404 permitting program, which regulates the dredging and filling of waters of the United States, including wetlands essential to water quality, storm and climate resiliency, threatened and endangered species and the economy,\u201d the lawsuit says. \u201cEPA\u2019s approval is unlawful because the state\u2019s program is not as stringent as federal law and rests on unprecedented arrangements that violate federal law.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit also raised the possibility that other states could similarly pursue permitting authority. Only Michigan and New Jersey have had such authority.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants\u2019 actions threaten to open the floodgates for other states to seek assumption (of the permitting authority) without requiring that those programs meet federal standards, further imperiling waters of the United States and the ESA-listed species that rely on them,\u201d the lawsuit says, referring to the Endangered Species Act.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, Miami Waterkeeper and St. Johns Riverkeeper.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Defendants include the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and several officials of the agencies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit raises a series of issues about Florida\u2019s application and the process the EPA used in approving the shift. It alleges, for example, that the application was not complete because it \u201cfailed to adequately identify the waters that would be assumed under its proposed program as required by the EPA regulations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout complete information, members of the public were unable to fully evaluate and comment on the impact the EPA\u2019s approval would have on waters that are of ecological, historical, cultural and economic benefit to the public,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Source: News Service of Florida<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\nAuthor: kerrys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"