Summary
On November 3 2020, 89% of voters in Orange County Florida approved the Right to Clean Water Charter Amendment, becoming the largest jurisdiction in the nation to pass rights of nature legislation, and the first rights of nature law in Florida. The amendment is also also known as the Wekiva River and Econlockhatchee River Bill of Rights, and recognizes that “the Wekiva River and Econlockhatchee River…have a right to exist, flow, to be protected against pollution and to maintain a healthy ecosystem.”
Local activist groups and CELDF presented the proposed charter amendments to Orange County, Florida’s charter review commission, and eventually, the county adopted the amendment. Although the charter amendment allows citizens of the county to bring an action in the name of the waters, “citizen” is later defined as a county resident with legal residence in the United States for at least one year.
The charter amendment is still in effect at the time of this summary.
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/wekiva-and-econlockhatchee-river-bill-of-rights-right-to-clean-water-charter-amendment/.
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