EPA wetlands change challenged

Environmentalists sue to stop move that puts some authority in hands of state

TALLAHASSEE — A coalition of environmental groups Thursday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a potentially far-reaching move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to shift permitting authority to Florida for projects that affect wetlands.

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.

“EPA is lowering the bar to allow a state, for the first time, to run the federal wetlands program without meeting federal standards,” Tania Galloni, Earthjustice managing attorney for Florida, said in a prepared statement Thursday. “Developers have called this the ’holy grail’ 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.”

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.

Supporters of the move praised the EPA’s decision as helping reduce duplicative state and federal permitting and giving Florida more control over such decisions.

“Our 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,” state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein, whose agency is slated to oversee the permitting, said in a statement released last month by the EPA.

But Thursday’s 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.

“This action arises from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s unlawful approval of a state application to assume jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act’s Section 404 permitting program, which regulates the dredging and filling of waters of the United States, including wetlands essential to water quality,