Florida judge claims EPA violated laws over Everglades cleanup

The Miami Herald reports on a federal judge's ruling over the controversial Everglades cleanup.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold says that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Clean Water Act when it "ignored the law and its own recommendations when [they] approved the state's revised schedule for cleaning up farm-tainted water flowing into the Everglades from Lake Okeechobee -- avoiding a December 2006 deadline to reduce pollutants in the Glades."

Judge Gold went on to say the state Legislature led by then Governor Jeb Bush "'violated its fundamental commitment and promise to protect the Everglades' by relaxing rules limiting the amount of damaging phosphorus in the Everglades ecosystem."

The lawsuit was brought on by the Miccosukee Tribe and the environmental group Friends of the Everglades. In an earlier post this month, Ecotravel News reported on the demise of an Everglades bird that the Miccosukee Tribe blamed on failed federal wildlife protection programs.

Read the full story: Judge: Glades cleanup ignored