On Monday, environmentalists took the first step in suing the EPA over water pollution that resulted in the mass death of manatees this 2021 from starvation.
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Pollution in Indian River Lagoon
Over 1,000 manatees perished in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida in 2021, most of them starving to death due to lack of seagrass, which is their primary source of food, according to Phys.org.
A lawyer for Environmental legal firm Earthjustice, Elizabeth Forsyth, who is representing the three organizations, said in a statement, "It is painfully clear that Florida isn't doing what's necessary to control the sewage and fertilizer pollution that's wrecking the Indian River Lagoon."
"It's time for EPA to step in and enforce the Clean Water Act for the sake of the manatees and all the other creatures and people that rely on Florida's waterways."
A record number of manatee fatalities prompted state and federal wildlife officials to begin feeding the endangered animals, an extraordinary action that demonstrated the severity of their plight.
The natural food source of seagrass is threatened by pollution, and environmentalists see feeding as a band-aid solution.
Because of EPA approval of poor water quality regulations in Florida, fertilizer and septic system contamination is allowed to wash into the lagoon, causing the water quality to decline. Algal development is aided by pollution, and this, in turn, causes seagrass to get obscured and eventually die.
The EPA received a 60-day notice of intent to sue from the Center for Biological Diversity, Save the Manatee Club, and Defenders of Wildlife, which is normally necessary before a lawsuit against a federal agency is launched.
This might be avoided by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Center for Biological Diversity's Florida director Jaclyn Lopez, admitting that current water quality standards are insufficient and beginning work on new ones to address this problem.
It's shameful that authorities' inability to preserve water quality has resulted in hundreds of manatee deaths, she added.
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Decline in Manatee Population
Indian River Lagoon is home to more species of plant and animal life than any other estuary in North America and provides crucial warm water habitat for slow-moving mammals.
According to Lindsay Dubin, a staff attorney with Defenders of Wildlife, until Florida is compelled to reign in its widespread pollution, manatees will continue to endure long and torturous deaths by malnutrition every winter.
It is imperative that the EPA take quick action to strengthen water-quality regulations, or this iconic species' survival will be put at risk.
For an East Coast plant near Cape Canaveral, Florida Power & Light, the state's biggest power provider, is investing $700,000 on a "temporary field response station" to feed the manatees there. The application has never been used previously in this way.
According to authorities, the number of manatee fatalities in Florida this year has been above the five-year norm. Manatees in Florida's Atlantic population account for 19 percent of the state's total and 12 percent of the state's overall mortality.
Despite being downgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" in 2017, the manatee has experienced substantial losses due to habitat degradation, red tide and exceptionally severe winters.
