Water & Wetlands Protection

Wetlands covered more than one-half of Florida in predevelopment times. Although only about one-half of the original wetlands remain, Florida still has more wetlands than any of the other 47 conterminous United States. It also has the second largest extent of water in the conterminous United States (after Michigan), and is surrounded on three sides by the ocean. Water is the lifeblood of our state, critical to public water supply and agriculture, our tourism-based economy, and – unique to the continental United States – our subtropical and tropical flora and fauna.

The protection and restoration of Florida’s water resources is central to ELC attorneys’ practice. We have significant experience advocating and litigating under the federal Clean Water Act and state water protection laws. We work with governments and others when we can, pushing for effective implementation of laws to maximize their environmental protection potential, but are willing and able to go to court when needed.  And we have been enmeshed in the development and implementation of Everglades restoration projects under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (“CERP”) approved by way of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 since that law’s development in the late 1990s. Since the early 2000s, our dogged advocacy for CERP has sought to ensure projects comply with the law and maximize restoration progress.