“Error: 404 not found.” The dreaded message you see when you visit a website that no longer exists. A District of Columbia federal district court judge ended the existence of Florida’s “404 program” (for protection of federal wetlands) when he published his decision to vacate the EPA’s “assumption decision” and its “approval of Florida’s assumption application,” ruling that the EPA acted illegally when it transferred the federal wetland permitting to the state in 2020.

All federal wetland permits pending with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) cannot be acted upon by FDEP. An existing Florida 404 dredge and fill permit is still valid. All new 404 permits must be submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.