"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Environmental groups filed suit in federal court Thursday to undo a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month that handed Florida officials primary regulatory authority over the state’s wetlands.

The groups contend that the decision could further destroy the state’s dwindling inventory of marshes, swamps and other sensitive ecosystems that now account for a fifth of the country’s remaining wetlands.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the groups assert that the EPA’s decision last month would allow developers in Florida to get projects fast-tracked by avoiding the federal scrutiny that developments in other states get under a host of federal environmental laws."

Bobby Caina Calvan reports for the Associated Press January 14, 2021. [2]