Environmentalists Ask Federal Judge to Continue to Lord Over State’s Business

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, environmentalists -- who had said they agreed with the states new Everglades cleanup plan that was passed unanimously by the Florida House Friday -- made a request in federal court Monday to continue to have a federal judge meddle, and have the ultimate say, in Floridas business.

After hearing complaints from Earthjustice attorney David Guest, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno postponed any action for 60 days, in order to give the state Legislature time to resolve the matter by instituting the plan agreed to by Gov. Rick Scott and the Obama administration.

Arguing on behalf of the state, Tallahassee attorney Chris Kise told the judge, There's no problem for the court to solve." Kise was brought in by the Scott administration to put an end to more than 20 years of costly federal litigation over the Everglades.

Although environmental activist groups like the billionaire Paul Tudor Jones-backed Everglades Foundation, a heavy funder of environmental lawsuits, and Audubon Florida did a victory lap, taking credit for the Everglades compromise plan approved by the House and on its way to approval in the Senate, environmentalists Monday changed their tune in front of the federal judge. They now claim to not have had a seat at the table, instead of having driven the legislative compromise. "We participate in the sense that [state officials] explain what they come up with," said Guest, who was representing a consortium of environmentalists, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

If Moreno decides to issue an order, it will mean that the litigious environmental groups will have an arena to continue draining state taxpayer dollars. But, hey, whats another 20 years of federal court fights?