Florida is making a new legal bid to reclaim oversight of the Sunshine State’s wetlands permitting program.
In a motion filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Florida and the state Department of Environmental Protection lashed out against a federal judge’s February ruling that handed wetlands permitting authority back to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The state asked the D.C. Circuit to stay the decision from Judge Randolph Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia pending its appeal. The ruling revoked a Trump-era decision that initially granted Florida power over its wetlands program.
“Florida’s program has streamlined the permit process compared to the default federal-only permitting model, while also protecting Florida’s waters and species through extensive federal oversight and a technical-assistance process that brings the federal and state agencies together in a consolidated process,” the state wrote in its request.
