Manatees are starving to death because Florida's water is so polluted.
Things got worse in April when hundreds of tons of algae-fueling nutrient pollutants were released into Tampa Bay, further endangering marine ecosystems and protected species.
We took legal action against the state of Florida for using manatee habitat as a dumping ground for polluted wastewater.
For years officials failed to adequately maintain and regulate phosphogypsum stacks and wastewater storage ponds at Piney Point in Manatee County.
Facing the looming catastrophic failure of a Piney Point gypstack, they ordered the discharge of up to 480 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay, violating the Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Endangered Species Act.
At least 782 Florida manatees have died so far this year, almost 10% of the known population.
The Center has fought for years to protect manatees, including lawsuits to secure Endangered Species Act protection for them and to protect these mammals from harmful algal blooms.