Two days after winning a successful bid for re-election, President George W. Bush found himself facing another battle, this time with America’s surfers. And the outcome of the battle, which challenges the legality of the process called “deepwell injection,” wherein a billion gallons of sewage is pumped into Florida’s aquifers daily, could significantly impact, for better or worse, the future of Florida’s coastal water quality, drinking water, coral reefs, and fisheries.

In December, the Surfrider Foundation, a 40,000-member, not-for-profit environmental group devoted to protecting the world’s oceans and beaches, has sent a notice of intent to sue to the White House, the Attorney General’s office, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and just about every state, federal, and some local agencies charged with environmental protection in Florida. Surfrider charges them with numerous violations of federal law, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Wetlands Alert joined the suit.

According to activists from the Surfrider Foundation’s Palm Beach County Chapter, the Federal Government continues to support the use of injection wells, which flush billions of gallons of sewage into underground aquifers. Studies have shown that instead of being filtered through the limestone and other sedimentary rock, contamination from the sewage is making its way into coastal waters where it is killing corals and other marine life, as well as threatening the health and welfare of surfers and other beachgoers.

“We are seeing dramatic increases of such things as red tides and other harmful algal blooms as a direct result of contamination from these injection wells,” said local activist Tom Warnke. “Currently over 600 miles of Florida’s coastline has been compromised.”

“If the agencies named in this lawsuit think they can simply posture their way through this, they are mistaken,” said Surfrider Foundation’s Interim Executive Director Michelle Kremer. “These are very serious charges concerning multiple violations of federal law.”

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