Florida water — court lets industry group challenge water standards

Nearly a year after a state regulatory commission approved controversial new water-quality standards, an appeals court Tuesday ruled that a pulp-and-paper industry group should be able to challenge the measures. The 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a decision by an administrative law judge that blocked the challenge by Florida Pulp and Paper Association Environmental Affairs Inc., a group that includes companies such as Georgia-Pacific, International Paper Co. and Packaging Corporation of America. Administrative Law Judge Bram D.E. Canter in a September 2016 decision also blocked challenges filed by the city of Miami and the Seminole Tribe of Florida to the water standards.

The city and tribe filed appeals in South Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal, which is scheduled to hear arguments Sept. 11, according to online dockets. The standards, which were developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and approved in July 2016 by the state Environmental Regulation Commission, were highly controversial. They involved new and revised limits on chemicals in waterways, with the department saying the plan would allow it to regulate more chemicals while updating standards for others. But the pulp-and-paper industry group argued in […]

Full article: What’s in Florida’s water? Court lets challenge to water standards go forward

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