Court Vacates EPA-Approved Florida Wetlands Permitting Program

The EPA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act when the Trump administration turned over a federal wetlands dredge-and-fill permitting program to the state of Florida, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia granted partial summary judgment in the case, vacating Florida’s assumption of the federal Clean Water Act Section 404 dredge-and-fill permitting program and a related Fish and Wildlife Service opinion underpinning the turnover.

The court will allow Florida to request a limited stay of the vacatur within 10 days to allow the state to propose a ...