In a decision Friday, a federal judge ruled that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) violated the Endangered Species Act, resulting in the starvation deaths of threatened manatees.
The advocacy group Bear Warriors United said this ruling sets a new national precedent: “No state agency is above the Endangered Species Act, even when it comes to regulating itself. The decision signals a turning point for environmental enforcement in Florida and across the country.”
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The lawsuit was filed by Bear Warriors United in 2022, after a record-breaking number of manatee deaths were reported in Brevard County.
The group attributed the increased death rate to the department’s wastewater discharge regulations, which allowed pollution of the North Indian River Lagoon and killed seagrasses used as a food source for manatees…