Miami Waterkeeper continues our legal challenge of FPL's 20-year license renewal for Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant. This March, Miami Waterkeeper and co-plaintiffs Friends of the Earth and Natural Resources Defense Council, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
(Source: FPL)
Fewer Boats Means a Safer Spring for Miami's Marine Creatures
Over the past few weeks, amateur photographers have been capturing images and video of manatees, turtles, and sawfish in South Florida waterways and posting them on social media. Stay-at-home orders have meant fewer boats out on the water. And that's meant a safer spring vacation for Miami's aquatic creatures, many of which are coming back to shore.
Recently, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) announced its intent to assume the federal authority of Clean Water Act permits related to dredging and filling (Section 404). This means that our wetland and marine ecosystems could be at risk.
Closed beaches, waterways due to coronavirus has South Florida's oceans looking clear and beautiful
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. - One seemingly positive impact of the majority of South Florida remaining inside during the coronavirus outbreak is being seen off of our shores. Without all the boats and people in the ocean, the water is as clear as it's been in a long, long time.
Coronavirus pandemic visibly causes pollution levels to drop in South Florida
MIAMI (WSVN) - With the coronavirus pandemic causing some parts of the world to shut down to combat its spread, pollution levels, including in South Florida, have dropped as a result. 7Skyforce flew over the waters of Biscayne Bay on Friday, and aerial footage showed clearer waters, which allowed cameras to show the bottom of the bay.
EPA proposes big expansion of Port Everglades offshore dump
By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org With Floridians focused on surviving the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to significantly expand an underwater dump site off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. The site would be used to dump material dredged during the upcoming $437-million Port Everglades harbor deepening project and unspecified "future proposed projects."
Miami Waterkeeper currently conducts weekly bacteria monitoring at 8 locations in Miami-Dade County. This sampling is to supplement the Florida Department of Health (DOH)’s Healthy Beaches program weekly tests.
What is a Swim Advisory?
A Swim Advisory is issued by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) when two consecutive samples from a site monitored by their Florida Healthy Beaches monitoring program reveal exceedances of more than 70 MPN of the fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) enterococci. Read more about this process HERE. After the second exceedance from the same site, DOH lets the local municipality know about a swim advisory for that beach and posts it on their website.
This morning, Miami Waterkeeper joined a lawsuit with Center for Biological Diversity related to the Nassau Grouper for failure to protect this critically important species.
Nassau Grouper (Photo by Nicolas Voison from Shutterstock; Oceana, 2020).
Lawsuit Launched Against Trump Administration for Failing to Protect Nassau Grouper Habitat
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Conservation groups launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration today for failing to protect Nassau grouper habitat, which faces threats from nearshore pollution and climate change impacts like sea-level rise and ocean acidification. "These big fish need our help keeping their homes livable," said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
