Florida Office Attorneys Honored
State conservationists award team for litigation that protects the Florida wetlands.
An Earthjustice legal team fighting to protect Florida wetlands has earned honors as Conservationists of the Year from the state’s environmental community. The Everglades Coalition, a group of about 60 local, state, and national conservation organizations, made the award.
Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice, along with senior attorneys Bonnie Malloy and Christina Reichert, are the Conservationists of the Year litigation team that successfully challenged — and overturned — a state takeover of federal wetlands permitting.
In the waning days of the first Trump administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rushed to approve Florida’s application to take over wetlands permitting authority under the Clean Water Act from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Florida became only the third state ever to take on this authority, and because of political influence from developers, wetlands destruction permits ramped up and protections scaled back.
In January 2021, this all-women legal team filed suit in federal court in Washington D.C. representing the Center for Biological Diversity, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Sierra Club, Florida Wildlife Federation, Miami Waterkeeper, St. Johns Riverkeeper, and Defenders of Wildlife. The team argued that EPA’s action was riddled with regulatory workarounds to the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act that reduced public input and environmental protections for Florida’s wetlands.
Legal wrangling went on for a few years, and the team sought an injunction against large-scale development planned in the last remaining habitat of the endangered Florida panther — the state animal.
In February 2024, a federal judge agreed with the team and did more than issue an injunction — the court rejected EPA’s approval of Florida’s wetlands permitting takeover. Among other things, the court said Florida’s takeover violated the Endangered Species Act. The court’s decision returned wetland permitting to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, restoring Endangered Species Act protections.
The Earthjustice legal team is currently defending this landmark victory on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Congratulations Tania, Bonnie and Christina!
The Florida regional office wields the power of the law to protect our waterways and biodiversity, promote a just and reliable transition to clean energy, and defend communities disproportionately burdened by pollution.