“Government officials in Florida have misled the public they are supposed to work for, and the Everglades have been harmed as a result,” said Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
A recently-filed lawsuit accuses Florida of failing to disclose that it had applied for federal funding while building the Everglades-area detention center now known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
According to The Associated Press, the public-records lawsuit was filed earlier this week in a Florida state court. The plaintiffs in the complaint include the Friends of the Everglades, the Miccosukee Tribe, and another environmental group.
In an August ruling, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams found that the state and federal agencies involved in the building of “Alligator Alcatraz” failed to abide by a law requiring an environmental review for any facility built on or near sensitive wetlands.
Williams’ order put a temporary end to construction at the site but, in early September, an appellate court in Atlanta issued a stay pending the outcome of an appeal, allowing the facility to stay open until the case is resolved.
The appellate court noted that Florida did not obtain a federally-mandated environmental review because the state had yet to receive any federal funding for the project.
“If the federal defendants ultimately decide to approve that request and reimburse Florida for its expenditures related to the facility, they may need to first conduct an [environmental impact statement],” the judges wrote.
The lawsuit notes that Florida appears to have applied for federal funding on August 7, but never shared this mention to either the district court or the appellate court. The state, lawyers say, have yet to correct these “misimpressions.”
“More than a month later, FDEM has not corrected the Eleventh Circuit Court’s misimpressions,” the lawsuit alleges. “What the federal District and Circuit Courts (and Plaintiff) were unaware of, because FDEM did not disclose the fact or produce the documents, is that FDEM had already applied for federal funding on August 7, 2025.”
The public records claim is seeking documents and correspondence related to communication between state and federal officials—documents and correspondence that the Friends of the Everglades say has been withheld, despite making numerous requests beginning in June.
“Government officials in Florida have misled the public they are supposed to work for, and the Everglades have been harmed as a result,” said Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
“Obtaining these public records will provide evidence crucial to our case and expose the full scope of this reckless prison and the federal government’s role in it,” Friends of the Everglades said in a press release. “Friends of the Everglades is standing up for environmental law and order — it’s that simple.”
Sources
Florida officials didn’t disclose funding request for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility, lawsuit says
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