Friends of the Everglades Files Lawsuit To Obtain Public Records Related to “Alligator Alcatraz”

Friends of the Everglades has filed a new lawsuit against the state of Florida to obtain public records related to the agencies and decision-makers behind “Alligator Alcatraz,” a detention center surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve.

The facility was built on the site of what was envisioned to become a massive jetport in the 1960s. Environmental studies at the time predicted that the airport would generate massive quantities of sewage and industrial waste every day, as well as thousands of tons of air pollution. The report also predicted that the jetport would lead to the extinction of the endangered Florida panther.

Those studies led to the state and federal governments pulling their support for the project. Soon after, President Gerald Ford purchased the Big Cypress Swamp for $150 million and turned it into the nation’s first nature preserve.

In early June, Florida Attorney General James Uthemeir announced that the state would build its largest migrant detention center at the site of the jetport.

In response, Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, wrote Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to say that the project would generate many negative environmental impacts, including "wetland degradation, building construction (even if temporary), water and sewer facilities, light pollution, traffic and emergency services."

DeSantis insisted the detention center and its rapidly growing infrastructure of tents, trailers, portable generators and toilets would have “zero effect” on either the Everglades or the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a more than $20 billion project to restore the Everglades’ natural rhythm.

Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida brought a lawsuit against the state and sought a TRO to stop development of the facility, which already had a small tent village, kitchen facilities, and inmates.

Judge Kathleen M. Williams agreed with the plaintiffs, ruling that the facility posed an environmental threat to the surrounding wetlands and endangered species, was a potential source of pollution runoff from wastewater discharge, and adversely impacted the habitat for the highly endangered Florida panther. The detention center also adversely impacted night skies with its artificial lighting and deprived tribal members of access into the national preserve for hunting and other activities, the judge stated in her 82-page ruling.

Her ruling rested largely on the defendants’ argument that the facility had failed to carry out any environmental studies to meet protocols outlined under the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to determine if their proposed actions will have significant environmental effects.

"Plaintiffs have provided extensive evidence supporting their claims of significant ongoing and likely future environmental harms from the project," wrote the judge. "By contrast, while the defendants repeatedly espouse the importance of immigration enforcement, they offered little to no evidence why this detention camp, in this particular location, is uniquely suited and critical to that mission."

Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, called the ruling a “landmark victory for the Everglades.”

Soon after the ruling, which required a slow closure of the facility over a 60-day period, the state of Florida appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Contrary to evidence presented during a four-day hearing in August, the state and federal defendants have repeatedly tried to deny the clear role of the federal government, therefore arguing the project didn’t have to comply with federal law,” wrote Friends of the Everglades in response to the appeal. “They have failed to produce public records sought by Friends of the Everglades related to federal support at Alligator Alcatraz. On October 2, news broke that FEMA awarded the state $608 million for costs related to the Everglades detention center, further strengthening our already strong legal case.”

Friends of the Everglades argues that obtaining public records related to the facility will provide evidence crucial to their case as the appeal moves forward.