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Defensive linemen in black robes
A Times Editorial
Published November 27, 2005
Like the Notre Dame football team, federal judges in Florida ought to occasionally exchange their drab traditional uniforms for bright green. U.S. District Court judges - not Gov. Jeb Bush, state legislators, local government officials or the Army Corps of Engineers - are anchoring a goal-line defense of the environment.
In June, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. in Tampa upheld federal manatee protection rules and rejected developers' arguements that those rules should not apply to residential docks built on inland waterways. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan in Jacksonville ruled a special blanket permit by the Army Corps made it too easy for the St. Joe Co. to destroy wetlands as it develops thousands of acres in the Panhandle. And last week, Palm Beach County halted construction of the Scripps Research Institute following U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks' ruling in West Palm Beach that the corps must conduct a broad environmental impact study.
Scripps and developers such as St. Joe have powerful allies in Washington, the state Capitol and the Governor's Mansion who too often are more interested in promoting splashy developments and cutting corners than in protecting the environment. Be thankful federal judges have the independence and the backbone to require that developers follow the rules - no matter how large the project or how influential the political connections.
[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:17:13]
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