Three environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to get the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reassess how Florida’s clean water standards may be impacting the Indian River Lagoon and the manatees there.
The suitThe U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando filed a complaint. It cites the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The suit claims that the EPA has failed take into consideration how federally accepted state waters standards may be contributing to the extinction. Massive manatee die-offIn the blightedIndian River LagoonThese changes have been made over the last few years.
The suit is made from the Center for Biological Diversity, Save the Manatee Club Defenders of WildlifeSupported in court by Earthjustice.
The suit demands that the court require the EPA and the U.S. to consult. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to reassess the EPA’s approval of Floridas water quality standards for the Indian River Lagoon.
According to the suit, such reassessments are necessary when there is new data. The new information in this case is what the suit contends is an “ecological collapse” in the Indian River Lagoon, most prominently with the death of tens of thousands of acres of seagrass, the manatees’ primary food staple.
“More than a thousand manatees died in Florida in 2021, more than any other year on record, with more than half of the deaths occurring in the Lagoon. Manatee deaths in the Lagoon have continued into 2022 at a record pace,” the suit states.
The goal of the EPA is to force Florida to improve its water quality standards for runoff into the lagoon.
Manatees need clean water in order to live in it. Elizabeth ForsythA news release stated this. The Indian River Lagoon pollution is preventable. We are asking EPA for help to protect the Indian River Lagoon, and all the species that depend upon it.
The suit also mentions other wildlife.
“The Indian River Lagoon is one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in North America. It is home to thousands upon thousands of animal and plant species. Sometimes called the ‘cradle of the ocean,’ the Lagoon features brackish waters that some predators avoid, leading young sea turtles, fish, crab, and shrimp to spend their juvenile stages there before they mature and move into the Atlantic Ocean,” the suit states.
“The iconic Florida manatee inhabits the Lagoon, alongside green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, and smalltooth sawfish. The manatee and sea turtles are protected as ‘threatened’ species under the ESA. The smalltooth sawfish is protected as an ‘endangered’ species under the ESA.”
Officially declared, the Florida manatee is currently experiencing an official declaration Unusual Mortality EventAlong Florida’s east coast, including important manatee warm water habitats like the Indian River Lagoon.
We insist that the EPA and the U.S. join forces to bring back the nearly 1,000 manatees who died as a result of years of neglect despite repeated warnings. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service will ensure that water quality standards are met promptly to end this travesty. Patrick Rose, an aqua biologist and executive director at Save the Manatee Club.
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