Two environmental groups sued Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in Florida Tuesday for failing to update 1990s-era pollution standards for clean water in the state.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Florida Waterkeeper and the Environmental Defense Alliance, an Alabama-based nonprofit, say the EPA vowed to provide new rules for Florida after both groups petitioned the agency. The feds provide a numeric criteria for toxic pollutants that can harm humans and wildlife, and states then adopt them.
In 2022, the EPA concluded that Florida needed to update pollution limits for nearly 80 toxic pollutants.
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"Specifically, EPA has determined that new and revised human health criteria (HHC) are needed to protect against adverse human health effects related to pollutants in Florida's surface waters," the EPA wrote in a 2022 letter quoted in the lawsuit.
In agreeing to update the list, the EPA said Floridians were eating more fish than current health rules recommend. The agency promised to issue new rules by this year and also address outdated guidelines for pollution permits.
But earlier this year, after President Donald Trump took office, the EPA withdrew the proposed rules.
In the lawsuit, the two environmental groups say they found six dozen facilities around the state dumping water with mercury levels that exceed limits for shellfish and fish consumption.
Florida Waterkeeper represents 14 regional groups, including Miami Waterkeeper.
The groups want a judge to find Zeldin broke the law by not issuing the rules and to order the agency to immediately provide the updated criteria for at least 73 pollutants.
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