By
http://www.floridasportsman.com/2011/12/02/new-lawsuit-attacks-state-failure-to-curtail-pollution/
Fishermen often don’t realize how much pollution ruins fishing, but
toxic contamination can stunt populations in a big way. Now, a new lawsuit
blasts the state in stronger words than ever.
Earthjustice, a
non-profit public-interest law firm specializing in environmental issues, filed
a legal
challenge against
“Toxic algae outbreaks are a public health threat and
they also affect
“The state DEP rule was basically written by lobbyists
for corporate polluters,” Guest said. “Polluters know it is cheaper for them to
use our public waters as their private sewers, and the state is giving them the
green light to keep doing it.”
“The DEP’s decision to
weaken pollution standards is an economic slap in the face to the thousands of
Floridians who work in the tourism industry,” said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon, who
has watched businesses suffer as the
After years of seeing toxic algae outbreaks on Florida
tourist beaches like Sanibel Island and at fishing destinations like the St.
Johns River, Earthjustice filed a Clean Water Act
federal lawsuit in 2008 in the Northern District of Florida on behalf of the
Florida Wildlife Federation, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the
Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St. Johns Riverkeeper,
and the Sierra Club. In 2009, the EPA set numeric limits for the phosphorus and
nitrogen that comes from sewage, fertilizer and manure in
The rule that the EPA set for
“The DEP rule basically says: ‘Well, there could be a
speed limit sign here, but we need to do a study first and then we’ll decide.’
Under the state DEP rule, by the time the state takes action, a waterway is
already slimed. The whole point is to clean it up before it gets that bad,”
said Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation.
The Sierra Club offered photographic
proof of the
dire need for immediate cleanup action. The Club unveiled an interactive
map of
“With the
help of local citizens and clean water watchdogs all over the state, the Sierra
Club has compiled photos of the red and green muck that plagues too many of the
springs, rivers, lakes and bays of our state. This map lets you take a
photographic ‘slime tour’ of
Earthjustice filed the administrative challenge in the Florida Division of
Administrative Hearings on behalf of the Florida Wildlife Federation, the
Sierra Club, the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, St. Johns Riverkeeper, and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
“We have a massive fish
kill in
