Attorneys from the Earthjustice legal organization filed a 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 .
In a February ruling , Moss found that actions by the EPA and the U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service in approving the shift violated the federal Endangered Species Act , and he vacated the transfer . In April , Moss issued a final judgment that cleared the way for appeals .
Florida last week filed a motion seeking expedited consideration of the case , including contending that the state “ has suffered — and will continue to suffer — an irreparable injury from having its … program stripped away during lengthy appellate proceedings .”
“ Removing that program from Florida ’ s control constitutes a classically irreparable harm by impinging on Florida ’ s sovereign interests in the conservation and management of water resources , land use , and wildlife — areas of traditional state responsibility ,” the motion said .
But the Justice Department filing Monday opposed the motion and said courts “ have long recognized that the United States ’ deliberations over whether to appeal are extensive . … In addition , any decision in this case requires input from the Environmental Protection Agency , the U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service , the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers , and the National Marine Fisheries Service — as well as multiple sections within the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice .”
“ The district court ’ s decision is 98 pages long and this case involves several nuanced , important issues of federal law regarding how federal agencies comply with the Endangered Species Act when authorizing actions whose impacts are long-running , geographically dispersed , and — in many cases — unknowable at the time of authorization ,” the filing said . “ In the federal government ’ s extensive experience litigating challenges to highly technical federal agency decisions , adequately briefing these issues could well warrant some extension of the normal briefing schedule , not a contraction of it .”
The appeals court last month rejected a request by the state for a stay of Moss ’ ruling while the appeal plays out . Attorneys for the federal government and environmental groups opposed the requested stay .
In part , they said the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers had stepped in to handle permitting . The Army Corps reviewed permit applications before authority was shifted to Florida in 2020 and conducts such reviews in most other states
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