11th Circuit Upholds EPA Permit for Florida Road Built with Radioactive Byproduct

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit rejected a challenge by environmental groups, leaving the EPA’s approval of a Florida test road made from phosphogypsum in place.

Environmentalists led by the Center for Biological Diversity sought to have the EPA’s 2024 approval of a one-mile test road in Florida vacated, arguing that the use of phosphogypsum—a radioactive waste from fertilizer manufacturing—threatens public health. In a unanimous opinion, Judges Stanley Marcus, Barbara Lagoa and Robin S. Rosenbaum held that the agency’s risk assessment was well-grounded, detailing exposure pathways and reasonable assumptions, and concluded the project fell within acceptable risk limits.

The panel emphasized that even if the plaintiffs’ preferred risk threshold were applied, the outcome would be the same, making a remand unnecessary. EPA approval was deemed consistent with Clean Water Act provisions, as the agency may permit other uses of phosphogypsum. The road, built by the Delaware-based Mosaic Company near New Wales, southwest of Tampa, is part of a broader industry effort to reduce hazardous stacks that have previously leaked contaminated water into Florida’s aquifers and Tampa Bay. The Center for Biological Diversity did not comment on the decision.