DeSantis wants a federal judge to dismiss a Piney Point lawsuit against the state

Attorneys for DeSantis and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection say the lawsuit is moot since the state is already working to resolve the problems at the former phosphate plant.

Contending that the case is moot, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit that targets the state and other defendants over a former phosphate-plant site where massive amounts of polluted water were released this spring to avert a potential catastrophe.

Attorneys for DeSantis and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Friday in motions to dismiss the case that the state is already working to resolve the problems at the Piney Point site, including with $100 million that lawmakers earmarked in April. Also, a court-appointed receiver has been appointed in a separate case involving Piney Point.

“The Piney Point facility will be closed as swiftly and safely as possible,” attorneys for the Department of Environmental Protection wrote in a 49-page motion Friday. “Mobilizing all three branches of state government, the state of Florida is making considerable progress toward this goal.”

The Center for Biological Diversity, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Manasota-88 and Our Children’s Earth Foundation filed the federal lawsuit in June, alleging that the state and other defendants long mishandled the Manatee County site.