Max Chesnes, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Mon, December 20, 2021
Three conservation groups Monday announced their plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over degrading water quality in the Indian River Lagoon that's contributed to a record 1,056 manatees deaths so far this year.
The nonprofits want the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reinitiate a review of water-quality standards with the EPA, according to a notice announcing their intent to sue. They warn manatee deaths will continue until human-caused pollution is reduced.
The Center for Biological Diversity joined Maitland-based nonprofit Save the Manatee Club and the Defenders of Wildlife in filing the 60-day notice of their intent to sue the federal agency. The coalition is represented by nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice.
"We feel this needs to happen so they can set new water-quality standards for the Indian River Lagoon," said Pat Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of Save the Manatee Club. "It's just not going to be possible, in our opinion, to recover the situation without higher standards."
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The nonprofits want the federal government to use the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act to strengthen water-quality measures, and they claim there's little enforcement and no accounting for legacy pollution.
"It's going to have to come with stronger enforcement provisions and assurances on compliance," Rose told TCPalm. "They don't mean anything if you have better standards but they're not adhered to."
The groups want the EPA to revisit Florida's water-quality criteria for nitrogen, phosphorus and dissolved oxygen, according to the notice. Pollution from fertilizer runoff, wastewater discharges and leaking septic systems spark algal blooms that choke out seagrass, a key food source for manatees.
Brevard County's stretch of the 156-mile-long lagoon has fared the worst this year. At least 345 manatees have died there since January, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data.
Earlier this month, wildlife officials approved a limited feeding trial at a Cape Canaveral power plant to help starving and malnourished manatees survive the winter months. It's an unprecedented attempt at a temporary solution, Rose said.
“The Indian River Lagoon is an ecological wonder that supports not just manatees, but green sea turtles, snook, tarpon and a stunning diversity of marine life," Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, wrote in a prepared statement.
"The mass death of these manatees, which was completely preventable, makes it clear just how critical it is that the EPA take swift action to protect the vibrant ecosystem they live in before it’s too late."
A dead manatee was found floating on its back in a canal at the Mariner Cay Marina in Stuart on Monday, March 29, 2021, by resident Julia Sansevere, who reported it to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Its cause of death is unknown.
Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter focusing on issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com
Conservation groups to sue EPA over manatee deaths
In this Dec. 28, 2010, file photo, a group of manatees are in a canal where discharge from a nearby Florida Power & Light plant warms the water in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Mon, December 20, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three conservation groups filed a formal notice on Monday of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn't take steps to protect manatees from water pollution in Florida.
Pollution-fueled algae blooms are cited as the cause of over half of the more than 1,000 manatee deaths in Florida this year, according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club.
The algae blooms killed thousands of acres of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, which highlights the inadequacy of Florida's federally approved water quality standards, the groups said in the notice letter.
They are asking the EPA to reinitiate consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess the standards. Monday's notice gives the agencies 60 days to address violations alleged in the letter before the groups file a lawsuit.
“It’s disgraceful that hundreds of manatees have died as a direct result of regulators’ failure to protect our water quality,” Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biologial Diversity, said in a news release.
The Indian River Lagoon is an “ecological wonder that supports not just manatees, but green sea turtles, snook, tarpon and a stunning diversity of marine life," Lopez noted.
“The mass death of these manatees, which was completely preventable, makes it clear just how critical it is that the EPA take swift action to protect the vibrant ecosystem they live in before it’s too late," Lopez said.
The Indian River Lagoon includes important warm-water habitat for slow-moving mammals and supports more species of plants and animals than any other estuary in North America, the groups said in the news release.
They claim that despite “extensive evidence of that harmful pollution and Florida’s failure to address it," the EPA approved the state's water-quality criteria for nitrogen, phosphorous and dissolved oxygen.
“Until Florida is forced to rein in its rampant pollution, manatees will continue to die slow, agonizing deaths by starvation every winter,” Lindsay Dubin, staff attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, said in the release. “The EPA must act immediately to improve water-quality standards lest it further jeopardize the future of this iconic species.”
Last week, wildlife officials announced a pilot feeding plan that could save many manatees from starvation. However officials said manatees will still face the long-term threat of manmade water pollution stifling their food supply.
Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric utility, is putting up $700,000 for a “temporary field response station” to feed the manatees at its plant in Cape Canaveral on the East Coast. The money is also for rescue and rehabilitation of distressed manatees, the company said in a news release.
The program has not been tried before.
Manatee deaths in Florida this year are more than double the average annual death rate over five years, officials said. The deaths represent 19% of the Atlantic population of Florida manatees, and 12% of all manatees in Florida.
Manatees were downlisted from “endangered” to “threatened” in 2017, but since then they have suffered significant setbacks from habitat degradation, red tide, unusually cold winters and now potential starvation from the seagrass die-off.
In this Dec. 28, 2010, file photo, a group of manatees are in a canal where discharge from a nearby Florida Power & Light plant warms the water in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Mon, December 20, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Three conservation groups filed a formal notice on Monday of their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn't take steps to protect manatees from water pollution in Florida.
Pollution-fueled algae blooms are cited as the cause of over half of the more than 1,000 manatee deaths in Florida this year, according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Manatee Club.
The algae blooms killed thousands of acres of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon, which highlights the inadequacy of Florida's federally approved water quality standards, the groups said in the notice letter.
They are asking the EPA to reinitiate consultation with Fish and Wildlife Service to reassess the standards. Monday's notice gives the agencies 60 days to address violations alleged in the letter before the groups file a lawsuit.
“It’s disgraceful that hundreds of manatees have died as a direct result of regulators’ failure to protect our water quality,” Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biologial Diversity, said in a news release.
The Indian River Lagoon is an “ecological wonder that supports not just manatees, but green sea turtles, snook, tarpon and a stunning diversity of marine life," Lopez noted.
“The mass death of these manatees, which was completely preventable, makes it clear just how critical it is that the EPA take swift action to protect the vibrant ecosystem they live in before it’s too late," Lopez said.
The Indian River Lagoon includes important warm-water habitat for slow-moving mammals and supports more species of plants and animals than any other estuary in North America, the groups said in the news release.
They claim that despite “extensive evidence of that harmful pollution and Florida’s failure to address it," the EPA approved the state's water-quality criteria for nitrogen, phosphorous and dissolved oxygen.
“Until Florida is forced to rein in its rampant pollution, manatees will continue to die slow, agonizing deaths by starvation every winter,” Lindsay Dubin, staff attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, said in the release. “The EPA must act immediately to improve water-quality standards lest it further jeopardize the future of this iconic species.”
Last week, wildlife officials announced a pilot feeding plan that could save many manatees from starvation. However officials said manatees will still face the long-term threat of manmade water pollution stifling their food supply.
Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest electric utility, is putting up $700,000 for a “temporary field response station” to feed the manatees at its plant in Cape Canaveral on the East Coast. The money is also for rescue and rehabilitation of distressed manatees, the company said in a news release.
The program has not been tried before.
Manatee deaths in Florida this year are more than double the average annual death rate over five years, officials said. The deaths represent 19% of the Atlantic population of Florida manatees, and 12% of all manatees in Florida.
Manatees were downlisted from “endangered” to “threatened” in 2017, but since then they have suffered significant setbacks from habitat degradation, red tide, unusually cold winters and now potential starvation from the seagrass die-off.
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