“ Vacatur ( of the transfer of permitting authority ) has also thrown Florida ’ s regulators and regulated community into permitting chaos , deprived Florida of the benefits of years of effort and investment into a comprehensive state program , put over 1,000 pending permit applications into regulatory limbo , blocked Florida agencies from performing legal duties and deprived the state of significant permitting efficiencies obtained from consolidating federal and state wetlands-permitting requirements ,” the motion said .
But attorneys for environmental groups that challenged the transfer and the federal government disputed the state ’ s arguments , in part because 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 other states .
Attorneys from the Earthjustice legal organization wrote in a May 6 brief that Florida ’ s “ claims of economic loss are hyperbolic , unsupported , and unfounded .”
Associated Industries of Florida and the Association of Florida Community Developers .
Moss ’ February ruling focused , in part , on whether the U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service properly prepared a biological opinion and what is known as an “ incidental take statement ” as part of the process of approving the transfer . Incidental takes are situations in which threatened or endangered species could be killed or harmed as a result of what are allowed activities .
Moss said a biological opinion and incidental take statement did not comply with the Endangered Species Act and another law known as the Administrative Procedure Act . He wrote that because the biological opinion and incidental take statement that the Fish and Wildlife Service “ issued in this case were facially and legally flawed , the EPA unreasonably relied on those documents in approving Florida ’ s assumption application .”
“ A stay would revert … authority once again to a state program that does not comply with the ESA ( Endangered Species Act ), putting listed species at risk of irreparable harm ,” the brief said .
Earthjustice filed the 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 , and its arguments have been backed by groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce ,
MAY 2024 • DITCHMEN 5