Suing to save the rivers

Frustrated by years of too much talk and too little action, environmental groups and one area government decided last week that lawsuits may be the only long-term solution to years of devastating water problems.

Environmentalists are worried about the disappearing habitat of the endangered Everglades snail kite. Thousands of residents on both coasts are worried about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District dumping polluted water from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, now plagued with sick fish and blankets of neon-green algae, some of it toxic. The algae also are in the West Palm Beach Canal.

On Monday, the Florida Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, arguing that the corps and the district, which manage the lake, should keep it lower to create a healthier environment for the snail kite and other wildlife. The groups suggest smaller releases all year instead of massive dumps like those now killing the estuaries on both coasts.

On Tuesday, the Martin County Commission voted 4-1 to tell the water district that the county will sue over the discharges to the St. Lucie River. The county will seek help from the Rivers Coalition, a group of business owners, Realtors, environmental and civic groups. County Attorney Steve Fry warned that a lawsuit could be expensive and difficult, with an uncertain outcome. But Commissioner Sarah Heard called it "imperative" and said taxpayers are demanding clean water and will support any action needed to get it. Commissioner Michael DiTerlizzi said representatives of other governments -- Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County and Lee County -- have told him they'll support Martin's actions.

Commissioners are reflecting concerns of residents who are angry that nothing has changed despite petitions, complaints, lost businesses, damage to fisheries and wildlife, plus new concerns about effects of toxic algae on human health. There is precedent. It took a lawsuit to start action on Everglades cleanup. In 1988, then-U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen sued the state for letting polluted water flow onto federal land in Everglades National Park. A 1991 settlement set deadlines for the state to remove phosphorus from the water so it doesn't harm the Everglades, and the 1994 Everglades Forever Act provided the money for the cleanup plan. As Mr. Lehtinen has noted, judicial oversight helps make agencies comply with cleanup requirements.

Talk has had little effect on water managers' poor choices and bad decisions in managing the lake. Lawsuits are a last resort but may be the only recourse left to force agencies to keep their promises.