Environmental activists in Florida are suing the state in a new court filing, saying the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center may be spewing hundreds of tons of toxic gas into the air without a permit.
A federal lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity asks the Southern District of Florida to declare Florida’s emergency managers in violation of the Clean Air Act and impose fines of at least $120,000 per day for each environmental violation.
This is the center’s second lawsuit targeting Everglades Detention Center operations over environmental issues, and comes a month after the first case was sent back to a lower court.
“Based on information and belief, and even using conservative estimates, the generator sets and light towers could collectively emit more than 509 tons of carbon monoxide (and) at least 204 tons of (nitrogen oxides) annually,” the complaint says.
The document points to an October environmental assessment commissioned by the Florida Department of Emergency Management that found the facility would require more than 100 diesel-powered light towers and between 25 and 200 diesel-powered generators. They consume more than 7.6 million gallons of fuel per year, according to the report.
The account was made public in March after the center and other groups sued DEM, the agency that oversees the facility, for thousands of public records being kept secret in violation of Florida law.
The assessment found that DEM must obtain a special air quality permit called a significant deterioration prevention permit, which is required for large facilities that emit “significant” levels of air pollution. This is generally required under the Clean Air Act if a facility has the potential to emit at least 100 tons of carbon monoxide or 40 tons of nitrogen oxides.
DEM did not respond to requests for comment.
The center’s lawsuit is just the latest in a series of legal challenges brought against the country against “Alligator Alcatraz,” a potentially multibillion-dollar enterprise hastily built on top of a decommissioned airport deep in an environmentally fragile region.
Allegations of human rights abuses and law violations have swirled in federal courts in the southern half of the state, but to little avail, and the facility has remained open since July 1, 2025, processing more than 22,000 detainees.
Environmentalists allege danger to protected wildlife and violations of federal law, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their argument that the facility was subject to national environmental protection laws. The court said because the facility is state-owned, it does not have to comply with federal environmental regulations.
A three-judge panel allowed Alligator Alcatraz to continue operating and sent the case back to the trial court for final resolution.
But the Clean Air Act, which is at issue in the center’s lawsuit filed Wednesday, applies to both state and federal facilities. Specifically, PSD permits depend on the structure’s emissions, not the structure’s ownership.
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The incident came to light amid reports that the facility was scaling back its operations. State officials say there has been no “official” closure order, but after touring the center, Rep. Maxwell Frost detailed the drastic drop in inmates, empty offices and staff vacancies.
“Every day this facility continues to operate is another day of harm to people, endangered species, and the delicate wetlands that support life in the Everglades,” Ryan Maher, the center’s staff attorney, said in a written statement.
“We will hold the state accountable until all dirty diesel generators are removed from the site.”
Update: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the previous lawsuit had been dismissed. Instead, it was sent to a lower court for final resolution.
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