Federal Court Strikes Down EPA Approval of Florida Wetlands Program
A federal court has ruled in favor of environmental groups, determining that the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated federal law when they greenlit Florida’s takeover of the Clean Water Act wetlands permitting program. Finding that the agencies had made an end run around the Endangered Species Act, the court on Thursday struck down Florida’s program for reviewing the impacts that wetland permits have on imperiled species. Under the court’s new order, EPA, Florida and those seeking permits to impact wetlands must use Endangered Species Act provis...