Preservation of Florida's wetlands may have gotten a boost on Friday. That's because a U.S. court ruled federal regulators should handle building permits — not the state.
The ruling by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upholds a 2020 decision. It says the federal EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act by letting Florida fast-track permits to build in wetlands.
The ruling said accelerated bulldozing of federally protected wetlands could threaten the survival of species like the Florida panther that rely on them to survive.
Chris Costello, the state campaign director with Florida's Sierra Club, was one of the plaintiffs.
"Wetlands not only act as the kidneys of our ecosystem, they clean our water for us at no cost," she said. "And the more we destroy our wetlands, the less water quality we have and the more flooding threats we have."
Environmental advocates say developers want the state in charge of permitting to make it easier to bulldoze wetlands.
Costello said the importance of the state's wetlands cannot be overestimated.
"The protection of our wetlands, the protection of our wild spaces that are so key to really our survival, our quality of life here in Florida, from flood attenuation to biodiversity," she said.
The ruling upholds a 2020 decision by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, who held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the federal Endangered Species Act when the agencies approved Florida’s wetlands permitting program in 2020.
Several environmental groups sued the EPA after the first Trump administration handed over wetlands permits to the state. Those include Earthjustice, 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.
In a statement, Earthjustice Attorney Christina I. Reichert said the appeals court ruling confirmed the "government can't take shortcuts around our bedrock federal environmental laws."
"The government tried a reckless scheme to fast-track the destruction of wetlands under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act,” Reichert said.
Executive Director of Miami Waterkeeper Rachel Silverstein said the court made clear that "Florida's 404 program was deficient."
"It lacked adequate safeguards, enforcement, and alignment with federal standards," Silverstein continued. "Today’s decision restores critical protections for wetlands, endangered species, and the people who depend on clean water."
