Navigation Florida appellate court rejects clean-water measure backed by Titusville voters
A 2022 city of Titusville ballot measure that allows residents to file civil lawsuits on behalf of local water bodies flies in the face of state law and cannot be enforced, a Florida appeals court said in December.
The Fifth District Court of Appeal’s Dec. 26 ruling marked a defeat for the environmental group Speak Up Titusville, which spearheaded the charter amendment granting the “waters of Titusville” the right to exist in their natural form, free of pollutants. The measure, which drew support from 83% of city voters during the 2022 general election, contradicts a recent state law barring local governments from granting any legal rights to “a plant, an animal, a body of water or any part of that natural environment that is not a person or political subdivision…” the court’s opinion said.
The litigation marks the latest chapter in what has been dubbed the “rights of nature” movement, whose supporters want to confer legal status on elements of the environment. The appeals court ruling parallels the outcome of a similar case in Orange County, whose residents passed a charger amendment conferring rights to bodies of water. In that case, the Sixth District appeals court found the Orange County amendment could not coexist with Florida state law.
