Environmental groups fight a Florida request in the case of wetlands regulating authority

Florida wetlands — Sunrise at Orlando Wetlands Park. By Bkamprath via iStock for WMNF News.

Environmental groups Monday urged a federal appeals court to reject Florida’s request for a stay of a district judge’s ruling in a battle about permitting authority for projects that affect wetlands.

Attorneys from the Earthjustice legal organization filed a 37-page brief at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia disputing Florida’s arguments that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss should be put on hold while an appeal plays out.

Moss ruled in February that a 2020 decision by the federal government to shift permitting authority to the state violated the Endangered Species Act.

Moss vacated the shift, giving authority to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army Corps administers the permitting program in most states and administered it in Florida before the 2020 shift.

Florida, backed by major business groups, filed a motion for a stay of Moss’ ruling, citing what it called “irreparable injuries” and “permitting chaos.”

But in the filing Monday, the Earthjustice attorneys pushed back, in part saying that Florida’s “claims of economic loss are hyperbolic, unsupported, and unfounded.”

The brief also pointed to the Army Corps’ “long-established” administration of the permitting program.

“A stay would revert … authority once again to a state program that does not comply with the ESA (Endangered Species Act), putting listed species at risk of irreparable harm,” the brief said.

Earthjustice filed the lawsuit in 2021 against the federal government on behalf of 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.

The state later intervened to defend the transfer.