Judge to EPA: Step Up Everglades Enforcement

A federal judge has slammed the Environmental Protection Agency, threatening to hold the agency in contempt of court for failing to curb nutrient pollution in the Florida Everglades.

Judge Alan Gold of the Southern District of Florida on April 15 ordered EPA to establish specific milestones to ensure Florida reduces phosphorus to levels mandated by the Clean Water Act.

The judge also suspended the state of Florida’s power to issue new water-pollution discharge permits and required EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to appear in person before the court in October to provide a progress report.

EPA says it is reviewing the court’s decision with the Justice Dept. “to determine the next steps.”

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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