Conservation groups are to file a legal complaint against government agencies alleging the destructive effects of "Alligator Alcatraz."
Fox 4's Eric Lovelace breaks down the legal notice:
In a press release on Friday, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity said they filed a notice of intent to sue and detailed federal and state failures to protect wetlands, endangered wildlife, and ecological resources. The legal violations listed were outlined in their June 27 lawsuit.
The groups stated how they believe the US Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and FEMA have unlawfully bypassed the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act protections in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
The Executive Director of Friends for the Everglades, Eve Samples, says she feels like there was so little regard for the environment when building this.
"It's been built at breakneck speed, with no public input, and no environmental analysis," she said.
In the notice, Friends of the Everglades cites that the Clean Water Act prohibits "any [unpermitted] addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source.”
The document lists multiple alleged violations, "based on aerial photos of the site and hundreds of dump trucks full of dirt and asphalt that the footprint of the TNT facility is being expanded, filled, and paved in areas that are historically wetlands."
Friends in the Everglades also listed alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Ranger Rob Howell, a known Southwest Floridan naturalist, told Fox 4 he worries about how this will impact the Everlgades for years to come.
"This feels like the nail in the coffin we're building," Howell said.
He also says to add this issue on top of existing ones, is a gut-punch to people who call the Everglades their home.
"Not only fighting for their homes, but they're fighting for the millions of species that live down here in the Everglades," Howell said.
The agencies are already in court for violating the National Environmental Policy Act and have 60 days to fix the legal violations before the groups sue them for the additional violations.
“This mass detention center was ramrodded into the middle of our country’s oldest national preserve with no public input, no environmental analysis — and no regard for the billions of dollars invested in Everglades restoration,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Our government has gone rogue by ignoring cherished laws that protect our nation’s water, wildlife and national parks.”
The immigration detention center, most commonly known as "Alligator Alcatraz," was quickly built and is surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, a home to dozens of endangered and threatened species such as the Florida panthers.
The facility is considered to be a temporary fixture.
