April 14 (UPI) — Amid an environmental threat to manatees in Florida, a federal district judge ruled the state violated the Endangered Species Act in regulating wastewater discharges into an east coast waterway.
In a 21-page decision Friday , Judge Carlos Mendoza, of the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, backed the plaintiffs. The environmental group Bear Warriors United argued pollution from septic tanks and sewage spills is killing seagrass, causing threatened manatees to starve to death in the Indian River Lagoon.
The group, which normally acts on behalf of black bears, fought for manatees, suing in 2022.
“This is a true David vs. Goliath victory,” Katrina Shadix, executive director of the nonprofit Bear Warriors United, wrote Saturday in a statement posted on Facebook . “We fought for the manatees — and we won.”…