U.S. Water News Online
MIAMI -- Over the objections of government officials, a federal judge is willing to hear more about claims by the Miccosukee Indian tribe that the state is missing deadlines for Everglades cleanup.
State and federal attorneys argued against delving more deeply into the jointly funded work. But U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler has agreed to hear testimony this summer on the government's dispute with the tribe.
``That's a major threshold,'' Dexter Lehtinen, attorney for the tribe living in the Everglades, said of the decision.
The state already says it is unlikely to meet a key deadline in 2006 for pollution reduction, and Lehtinen argues it already has failed to meet some deadlines.
``They're continuing to load polluted water into the Everglades and not committing the research and financial resources necessary to solve it,'' Lehtinen said outside court. ``They need to put more money into it, and they need to hold water back when they can't clean it.''
Justice Department attorney Neal McAliley acknowledged there are problems but disputed statements made by both Lehtinen and farm interests around Lake Okeechobee, a primary water and pollution source for the Everglades.
McAliley wanted the judge to stay on the sidelines in the federal lawsuit, filed against the state by Lehtinen when he was U.S. attorney in 1988. A consent decree closed the case, but it can be reopened if the decree is violated. The judge receives regular updates.
``We have phosphorus still going into the Everglades that is probably less than healthy for it,'' McAliley said. ``We have not cleaned up the Everglades yet, and we have a process going forward.''
Phosphorus from farms and suburbs is the primary polluter. The fertilizer ingredient spurs growth that drives out the Everglades' natural low-nutrient plants, and that, in turn, changes the wildlife pattern.
President Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, signed an agreement in January to guarantee clean water for a major restoration project.
The blueprint envisions spending $7.8 billion over 30 years to restore about 2.4 million acres of the shallow marsh ecosystem. The state is committed to spending $763 million.
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