Appeals Court Upholds EPA Approval for Phosphogypsum Road Project in Florida
A U.S. appeals court has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's approval for an experimental road project using phosphogypsum, a radioactive byproduct of fertilizer production, in Polk County, Florida. The court ruled against a challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity,…
Orlando Daytona Beach Melbourne, FL, August 13, 2026 —
A federal appeals court has affirmed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) go-ahead for an experimental road construction project utilizing phosphogypsum in Polk County, Florida. The decision comes after a legal challenge filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Phosphogypsum is a byproduct generated during the production of fertilizer. The project in question involves its use in road building, an application that has faced scrutiny due to the material’s radioactive nature.
The Center for Biological Diversity had challenged the EPA’s approval. However, the U.S. appeals court ruled in favor of the agency. The court’s decision stated that the EPA’s approval of this particular project does not prevent independent reviews of future, similar proposals. This suggests that while this specific instance is settled, the agency may still conduct case-by-case assessments for other potential phosphogypsum projects.
The specific details regarding the scale of the project, the exact location within Polk County, and the timeline for its construction were not provided in the available information.
The ruling indicates that the legal pathway for experimental uses of phosphogypsum in infrastructure projects remains open, subject to future regulatory review. The EPA’s initial approval and the subsequent court decision focus on this specific experimental application.
Story summarized from the original created by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix on www.orlandoweekly.com, see more information here.
