A group of manatees are pictured in a canal where discharge from a nearby Florida Power & Light plant warms the water in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dec. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

April 14 (UPI) -- Amid an environmental threat to manatees in Florida, a federal district judge ruled the state violated the Endangered Species Act in regulating wastewater discharges into an east coast waterway.

In a 21-page decision Friday, Judge Carlos Mendoza, of the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, backed the plaintiffs. The environmental group Bear Warriors United argued pollution from septic tanks and sewage spills is killing seagrass, causing threatened manatees to starve to death in the Indian River Lagoon.

The group, which normally acts on behalf of black bears, fought for manatees, suing in 2022.

"This is a true David vs. Goliath victory," Katrina Shadix, executive director of the nonprofit Bear Warriors United, wrote Saturday in a statement posted on Facebook. "We fought for the manatees -- and we won."

Manatees are classified by the U.S. government as a threatened species, and they seek warmer waters. The manatees can be found along Florida's Atlantic Coast and the Caribbean Greater Antilles, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

"Florida's manatees can't speak for themselves but Bear Warriors United just roared on their behalf," Shadix said in her press release. "This case is about holding power accountable and defending the right of future generations to live in a state where manatees still swim free."

Mendoza ordered the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to obtain an "incidental take permit" from federal wildlife officials to help minimize the discharges.

The affected area primarily is in Brevard County, which is east of Orlando.

The Indian River Lagoon is 156 miles, extending from Ponce de León Inlet in Volusia County, Florida, to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County.

The judge said it would take at least a decade for conditions in the northern part of the Indian River Lagoon to start to recover.

"This is due to the previously and currently permitted discharge of legacy pollutants via wastewater into the north IR," Mendoza wrote. "These legacy pollutants caused the death of seagrasses -- the manatee's natural forage -- and the proliferation of harmful macroalgae. Legacy pollutants, as their name suggests, persist in the environment and cause harmful effects long after they have entered the system."

Mendoza wrote if FDEP doesn't reduce nutrient levels, there will continue to be "harmful algal blooms and, in turn, no seagrass recovery and more manatee takings."

Attorneys for the state argued that Florida has atttempted to reduce discharges into the lagoon and disputed that it has violated the Endangered Species Act.

"The record shows that DEP has not authorized or entitled any party to cause a violation of water quality standards," the state's attorneys wrote. "It has, instead, worked diligently to restore an impaired water. There is no proximate cause. DEP is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because with no dispute of material fact, it has not violated the ESA."

The year before the group sued, Florida had a record 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021, including 358 in Brevard County.

There were 800 manatee fatalities in 2022, then 555 in 2023 and 565 last year, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data. As of April 4, there were 282 manatee deaths had been reported this year, including 55 in Brevard County.

Florida's manatee population in 2022 was estimated from 8,350 to 11,730.

Bear Warriors United must file a proposed injunction by April 25 specifying necessary action by the state .

"We need a moon shot for the lagoon," Lesley Blackner, an attorney who represents Bear Warriors United, posted on Facebook. "Stretching it out for 30 years isn't going to do it. Throwing clams in the water isn't going to do it. Planting seagrass is not going to do it. Dredging is not going to do it."

More than two decades ago, environmentalists' lawsuits led to Florida creating statewide arrays of go-slow boating zones. Bug excess algae kept killing manatees.

Florida collects fees for the purchase of manatee license plates. The Save the Manatee Trust fund is used for research, rescue and conservation activities.