A federal judge has sided with the group Bear Warriors United in rejecting Florida’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the state’s oversight of wastewater discharges in Central Florida has led to the death of hundreds of manatees.

Judge Carlos Mendoza issued the decision on Dec. 18 in the Middle District of Florida. The ruling allows the litigation against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to move forward on the question of whether there is “an ongoing risk of manatee takings” under the department’s wastewater regulations governing the North Indian River Lagoon.

The manatees, which are aquatic mammals that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says typically weigh 1,000 pounds and are 9 to 10 feet in length, have suffered two mortality events in recent decades – in 2011 to 2013 and the period of 2020 to the present, according to the court decision.