Photo courtesy of Calusa Waterkeeper
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Conservation groups today (December 19, 2018) filed a notice of intent to sue three federal agencies for failing to assess harm to Florida’s endangered species before approving the ongoing release of Lake Okeechobee waters polluted with toxic, nutrient-rich agricultural waste.
The discharges likely help drive the catastrophic “Red Tide” algae blooms killing Florida’s coastal wildlife.
The groups are challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to extend through 2025 deadly discharges from the lake into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers. The discharges harm protected marine species like sea turtles and Florida manatees and trigger toxic algae blooms that limit use of waterways and cripple local economies.
Today’s notice gives the Army Corps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service 60 days to respond to the claims submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity, Calusa Waterkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance.
“Even as the Red Tide wreaks havoc, the Corps keeps treating Florida’s rivers like a toilet,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “Year after year our waterways are polluted and the health and livelihoods of Floridians are threatened. Florida’s residents, from fisherman to manatee, deserve better.”
Before approving long-term schedules for discharges from Lake Okeechobee, the Corps is supposed to work with scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to assess risks to plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act. But the agencies have ignored the impacts of the algal blooms and failed to consider how the ongoing damage would harm populations of manatees, sea turtles, smalltooth sawfish and coral for the next seven years.