"Florida wildlife officials say their annual manatee survey counted 6,620 of the sea cows — the most since the state began the census in 1991."

"LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Fla. — Florida water managers are preparing to evict the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this summer from a swath of Everglades that it's managed for 66 years."

"Georgia yesterday notched a big win in the ongoing Southeast water wars when a special master advised the Supreme Court to reject Florida's claims about the Peach State's excessive water use."

"Florida lawmakers have debated fracking regulations for years, but a new bill would end the debate and has Republican and Democratic support."

"An expert told a federal judge in Nashville on Monday that a Gallatin power plant released more coal ash pollutants in an eight-year period than the 2008 in coal ash spill in Kingston and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."

"With Miami Beach set to break ground this year on the most ambitious piece yet of its aggressive anti-flooding project, some homeowners worry that raising streets to keep them dry will cause flooding on their properties."

"At the end of January, two things will change about the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. One is that Secretary Jon Steverson will leave his post after two stormy years in charge, to take a new job with the law firm of Foley & Lardner. The other is that Steverson's new employers at Foley & Lardner will take over representing Florida in handling the billions of dollars awarded to the state as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster."

"A dangerous weekend weather system killed at least 18 people in the U.S. South, with Georgia officials reporting more than a dozen deaths on Sunday after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes buffeted several states."