Thursday, August 23, 2007
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/08/20/daily32.html
The Florida Sugar Cane League said it has filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act unless all pumps in the South Florida Water Management District are held to the same standards.
The nonprofit trade association of Florida growers and processors said that if some pumps are required to obtain federal permits, then all the pumps in the SFWMD should be.
In June, a federal judge ruled that National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits were required for the SFWMD's S-2, S-3 and S-4 pumps, located in the farming area south of Lake Okeechobee. However, because those structures were the only ones covered by the relevant suit - Friends of the Everglades, et al. vs. South Florida Water Management District - she could not require other structures in the district to obtain NPDES permits.
The SFWMD is appealing the ruling, saying that it constitutes surrendering jurisdiction over state waters to the federal government. It has filed for the permits.
"It is time to stop targeting only farmers south of Lake Okeechobee. This notice is about fairness and equal treatment under the law," said Gaston Cantens, spokesman for the Florida Sugar Cane League. "If federal NPDES permits are required for the southern Lake Okeechobee pumps, they should, in fairness, be required for all structures which convey water and pollutants into or out of Lake Okeechobee and other navigable waterways in the system. There are hundreds of similar pumps and other structures throughout the South Florida Water Management District and thousands throughout Florida that allow water to flow into and out of the numerous water bodies."
The SFWMD said obtaining permits for all the structures under its control would put a "monumental burden" on its resources and possibly threaten its ability to manage Florida's water.
"The consequences of misapplying the Clean Water Act and the far-reaching effects on the District's ability to provide flood control, protect water supplies and restore the environment have been our deepest concern from the start," the district said."As today's action demonstrates, implications of the S-2, S-3 and S-4 case extend well beyond these three Lake Okeechobee structures. Federal permits could potentially be imposed on hundreds of district structures, impacting our urban areas, the Everglades and the entire South Florida ecosystem."