Environmental groups plan to sue Florida and the Trump administration for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act through the construction of a migrant detention center in the Everglades.
Located in a remote area within Big Cypress National Preserve, the detention center threatens the region’s wetlands and endangered species such as the Florida panther and Florida bonneted bat, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Everglades and Earthjustice said in a notice Friday.
Aerial images taken in the last two weeks suggest that Florida has filled in and paved over wetlands to construct the detention center without obtaining required federal permits, the groups wrote. The state also hasn’t initiated consultation under the Endangered Species Act, even though the facility’s “loud noise, bright light, and vibrations” are likely to disturb endangered and threatened wildlife, they continued.
The detention center opened earlier this month on the site of a regional airport and will ultimately house up to 5,000 migrants. It consists primarily of large tents and old FEMA trailers, but also includes “stadium-like” lights, the notice said.
