On August 11, 2025, Everglades Law Center filed a legal challenge to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (FDEP) proposed approval of the Southland Water Resource Project–an 8,632-acre limestone mine in the heart of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). The challenge was filed on behalf of Tropical Audubon Society and two individuals.
If approved, the proposed Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) would clear the way for industrial-scale mining immediately adjacent to multi-billion-dollar Everglades restoration projects—including the EAA Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Areas.
Our legal challenge alleges that the project fails to comply with fundamental rules designed to ensure that projects do not harm the Everglades or undermine ongoing restoration. With the filing of this legal challenge, the project is on hold, for now.
Why This Matters:
The significance of this project comes down to location, scale, and risk.
- The project proposes to convert more than 8,000 acres of mined pits into “water storage reservoirs” that would be connected to Everglades restoration infrastructure and rely on publicly funded Stormwater Treatment Areas to treat its discharges. However, FDEP deferred its analysis of the impacts of such a plan until a future phase, after mining has already begun.
- Disturbance of phosphorus-rich soils and release of salty underground water could contaminate the water quality of the Everglades ecosystem and downstream reservoirs and treatment areas.
- Stormwater management associated with the mining project could disrupt the natural movement of freshwater south to the Everglades, worsening already low water levels in critical wetlands.
- FDEP classified the project’s rock piles and berms as “minor impoundments”—rather than requiring the highest safety standards—leaving them more vulnerable to failure during hurricanes or back-to-back storms.
Because of its location and scale, inadequate review of this project creates serious risks for the stability and success of nearby Everglades restoration efforts.
What’s Next?
Our challenge has been sent to Florida’s Division of Administrative Hearings, where an administrative law judge will hear the case. We will present evidence showing that the proposed permit violates Florida law and poses harm to the Everglades and ongoing restoration.
How You Can Help:
- Spread the word: Share this alert with your networks.
- Support the fight: Your donations fuel our legal efforts to defend clean water, wildlife, and restoration.
The Everglades can’t defend itself, but Everglades Law Center gives it a fighting chance by enforcing the laws that are meant to protect it.