An update is expected this week in a legal dispute over Everglades restoration.
The South Florida Water Management District wants an end to federal oversight of the restoration, but environmental groups and others are opposed to the move.
A federal judge has given the water management district until Wednesday to respond to opposition.
The federal government, state Department of Environmental Protection and environmental groups oppose the South Florida Water Management District’s unprecedented request.
The district is asking a federal judge to toss a nearly 30-year-old settlement authorizing the federal oversight.
“The water management district right now is like a rogue actor,” says Clay Henderson of Stetson University’s Water Institute. “It’s making some unilateral decisions that are inconsistent with the path that we’ve been on all these years.”
The district oversees Everglades restoration and water resources in Central and South Florida. It says Everglades water is clean and that federal oversight no longer is necessary.
