April 23, 2003

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida Press Release
Miami
Press/For Immediate Release            
Joette Lorion     (305) 279-1166

Judge Hoeveler Orders Hearing to Discuss State Everglades Bill on May 2nd

    The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida announced  today that Judge Hoeveler has ordered a federal court hearing to be held on the Everglades legislation being steam rolled through the state legislature.  A hearing on the status of the Everglades cleanup was to be held on June 10th, , but Judge Hoeveler expedited the hearing in an Order received by the Tribe today. The hearing on the status of the Everglades cleanup plan will now be held on May 2nd in Courtroom 9, at 301 North Miami Avenue in Miami, Florida beginning at 10:00 a.m.

    At the hearing, the  Tribe will raise concerns that if the amendments to the Everglades Forever Act (EFA) are adopted, there will be no guarantee that the state will meet the compliance dates adopted by the Judge in an amendment to the 1992 Consent Decree that settled the 1988 Everglades lawsuit.  In the original Everglades lawsuit, the federal government sued the state for not enforcing water quality standards in the Everglades.  The Tribe claims that this bill, which could soon  become law, shows that the state can not guarantee that the December 31, 2006, deadline to meet long term water quality standards will be met and enforced.  (The original date to meet final water quality standards was July 2002, and the EFA delayed that date.)    

     Dexter Lehtinen, the former U.S. Attorney for the state of Florida who filed the original 1988 lawsuit on behalf of the federal government, has represented the Miccosukee Tribe in the case since 1994.  Mr. Lehtinen, General Counsel for the Tribe on these matters, says the 500 member Tribe has kept this case alive for nearly a decade and will be in Court on May 2nd to see that the state's bill does not jeopardize Everglades restoration. "Judge Hoeveler has been overseeing the Everglades settlement agreement for over ten years.  The Tribe is pleased that he is concerned enough about the Everglades legislation that he has decided to expedite the hearing, so that it can be held before any legislation becomes effective.  The Judge clearly stated in his Order amending the original Consent Decree that adopted the EFA deadlines, that he did not expect any more delays. It appears from this Order that he meant what he said."

    The Tribe, who has lived in the Florida Everglades for centuries is an acknowledged leader in the battle to stop pollution of its homeland.  It filed a motion to enforce the original settlement agreement in the Hoeveler case after the EFA was passed in 1994, and has been carefully scrutinizing the Everglades clean up effort in Court ever since. The Tribe, which is treated as a state under the Clean Water Act, was also the first to adopt a numeric 10 ppb water quality standard for phosphorous for its Everglades, which the EPA deemed protective.     According to Miccosukee Tribal Chairman Billy Cypress, "Delay is the enemy of the Everglades.  Every year the state fails to provide the quality of water the Everglades needs to survive, more of it is destroyed.  Those pushing this destructive Everglades bill don't see the damage caused by the delay, but our members who live in the Everglades do. Our entire culture and way of life depend on the Everglades having clean water. We will not tolerate  more delay.  We will not let the Everglades, which is 'the world and life of the Miccosukee' people, die."