Uthmeier vows to keep Alligator Alcatraz open even as state winds it down

Pardon us, but what is wrong with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier?

A week after a federal judge ordered the state to wind down activity at "Alligator Alcatraz," it looked like Florida was complying. Kevin Guthrie, the Executive Director of the state Division of Emergency Management, let slip that the Everglades immigrant detention center was “probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days.” 

Great news, although the state is appealing so this saga's not over yet.

But meanwhile, here was Uthmeier yapping to WINK News in the wake of the ruling, basically saying the state would ignore the judge's order.

“We’re going to continue operating the facility," he said. "We believe that it’s a fully lawful facility.”

Yo, Jimmy: It doesn’t matter what you think. The judge has ruled and unless you’re granted a stay, or until the decision is overturned on appeal, you’re obligated to respect the ruling.

Unless his plan was to defy the court order and risk being ruled in contempt of court. (But hey, it wouldn’t be Uthmeier’s first time.)

Maybe he was simply being combative, throwing red meat to the "base" as he preps his 2026 electoral campaign.

But Floridians deserve better than this — and they can vote for it next year. Click the button and we'll tell you more.

Southland rock mine update:

Where's the 'water resources' plan?

As you know if you’re following along at home, the Southland Water Resource Project (the EAA rock mine) faces a legal challenge over the FDEP permit that would allow contractor Phillips & Jordan to start blasting away.

But the “water resources” aspect of the project hasn’t even started its way through the South Florida Water Management District’s approval process; the applicants were asked to submit updated plans by Wednesday, Aug. 27. That is, yesterday.

As of this writing, Wednesday afternoon, there’s no indication they’ve done so.

A SFWMD tracker of “unsolicited proposals” shows no activity since late June.

District officials have suggested the Aug. 27 deadline wasn't a hard-and-fast cutoff; were Southland to submit something a day or a week or a month (or longer?) from now, the district would likely accept it for review.

But this is important because if the applicants — and U.S. Sugar and Okeelanta/Florida Crystals, owners of the 8,600+ acres in question — intend to follow through on plans to store water in the holes they blast in the limestone, they have to answer a lot of questions first (including, “How can you be sure this won’t have an impact on the adjacent EAA Reservoir?”).

But all along some rock mine opponents have said the applicants don’t need to follow through on the water resources project; if this is all about rock mining and only rock mining, maybe they won’t bother going through the charade.

If no revised plan gets submitted, maybe there’s something to that theory. So we’ll keep you posted; and if a revised plan does show up, we'll break it down — and let you know how you can speak out against it!

Order a hat or a koozie and get a free sticker!

VoteWater gear: Show 'em you vote for clean-water candidates

New items in the VoteWater shop: Flexfit snapback trucker hats with mesh sides and back and our logo out front, $29.99; and environmentally friendly cork Koozies suitable for your favorite canned beverage, just $9.99 each.

And we've still got some vintage "Bullsugar" shirts, just $6.99!

Each order includes a free VoteWater sticker! Now THAT’S a deal no true water warrior can pass up!

Major blue-green algal bloom at Port Mayaca

The toxic algae situation on Lake Okeechobee this year has been relatively muted — but that may be changing.

On Wednesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District reported a massive bloom at Port Mayaca, larger than a football field and registering a “12” on the agencies’ “Bloom Index” — the highest degree of severity possible.

The FDEP’s Algal Bloom Dashboard notes numerous samples were taken in the area, with many of them showing varying levels of the cyanobacteria microcystis aeruginosa.

Five days earlier, on Aug. 22, the Florida Department of Health in Martin County had issued a water advisory due to reports of toxic algae in and around Lake O.

With the lake at just 12.32 feet as of Wednesday, there’s no imminent peril to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers or Lake Worth Lagoon. But it’s yet more proof, as if we needed any, that our pollution problems persist — and elected leaders must do more to address them.

EPA head sued for failing to adopt updated water quality protections

Kudos to our friends at the Environmental Defense Alliance and Waterkeepers Florida, who earlier this month sued the head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the EPA has failed to update water quality criteria that would keep toxic and cancer-causing chemicals out of state waters.

According to the lawsuit, the EPA had new water quality criteria ready to go, but President Trump issued an executive order which directed federal agencies not to promulgate new rules. The EPA and its Administrator, Lee M. Zeldin, compliantly sat on their hands — and so the Environmental Defense Alliance and Waterkeepers Florida filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville Division) against Zeldin to compel him to finalize those rules as the Clean Water Act requires.

For the full rundown, read the press release.

Bottom line: Clean-water action in Florida often requires a lawsuit. It shouldn’t be that way. But because it is, it’s necessary for conservation groups to step up. So thanks to all that have done so!

We're getting ready for 2026,

how about you?

VoteWater’s getting ready for the 2026 elections by interviewing candidates, updating our “Dirty Money” database, prepping clean-water surveys for south Florida candidates (with the results to be posted on VoteWater.org) and more. We’ll endorse clean-water candidates and help you elect leaders who’ll do more to protect our fragile waterways.

Please help fund this important work by donating today, or becoming a VoteWater member!

Become a WaveMaker!