Critics of a legal concept known as rights of nature expect renewed litigation in the wake of Orange County voters overwhelmingly approving a charter amendment that confers such rights on two local rivers.
County voters on Nov. 3 approved charter Amendment 1 by a margin of 89.2 percent to 10.8 percent, according to an unofficial tally. The measure would give certain legal rights to the Wekiva and Econlockhatchee rivers, prohibit pollution of the waterways and give a green light to private rights of action against private and public entities so that anyone could sue to enforce the rivers’ new rights.
Despite the large number of “Yes” votes for the charter amendment, a major obstacle still stands in its way: The state legislature earlier this year passed Senate Bill 712, the Florida Clean Waterways Act, which bars local governments from conferring legal rights on elements of nature, such as waterways, plants and animals.
In Leon County, environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to invalidate SB 712 and give local governments more leeway to use civil litigation to protect elements of the natural landscape and fight pollution.
“We will probably see some renewed interest in the bill, maybe some renewed lawsuits by environmental groups trying to enforce the charter amendment’s passage,” Kady Valois, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, told the Florida Record. “But we can’t really say until something is filed is filed in court.”
The amendment would expand the way standing – which in law refers to having adequate legal interest and injury to take part in a lawsuit – occurs in Florida, according to Valois. Under the rights-of-nature concept, anyone can sue on behalf of a protected waterway, even if they don’t own riverfront property or can’t claim a direct injury after a pollution event.
“So by expanding the pool of applicants, you can bring lawsuits,” she said. “I’m sure that there will be many more filed.”
The Pacific Legal Foundation is monitoring the current lawsuit that challenged SB 712 after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill earlier this year, according to Valois.
“We’re keeping a close eye on that and are not sure whether we will be filing a brief at this time,” she said. “We do not believe that it is proper to grant legal standing to nature and are monitoring the controversy very closely.”
The Orange County vote also caught the attention of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which sees the rights-of-nature concept as “a fringe legal philosophy” that poses threats to property rights, according to a recent legislative update from the chamber.
“Now that this Orange County charter amendment has passed in conflict with state law, the Florida Chamber expects the need to defend the law in court …” the update states.