Seminole County Denied Fees

As we mentioned in previous posts, Seminole County has been falsely claiming that we lacked material facts to support our challenge of the Yankee Lake water withdrawal permit and that we only intended to unreasonably delay the project. Despite evidence to the contrary, Seminole County filed a motion seeking attorney’s fees from St. Johns Riverkeeper and the City of Jacksonville.

Well, Judge J. Lawrence Johnston has issued his Final Order.

Johnston's decision - Seminole's motion is DENIED.

This is an important decision. If Judge Johnston had somehow ruled in Seminole's favor, it could have established a dangerous precedent by making it more difficult for citizens and local governments to challenge permit decisions that pose a potential risk to the health of our waterways.

We're obviously pleased that Judge Johnston ruled that Seminole County's SLAPP suit was baseless. However, it is sad that a citizen-based noprofit organization and a local municipality are forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs to defend their CONSTITUTIONAL right to petition the government to protect these irreplacable natural assets.

We hope the citizens of Seminole County will let their elected officials know that they are tired of their tax dollars being wasted on attempts to silence citizens with legitimate concerns who are only trying to make sure our river is adequately protected and that our water resources are not exploited.