A state judge upheld an environmental rule this week that is expected to erase portions of the Lagoon and its tributaries from a state list of impaired waterbodies. Stuart Lerner, an administrative law judge ruled Florida DEP’s plan for identifying which waters need stricter pollution limits is legal. Seven environmental groups, led by the Clean Water Network had challenged the state’s rule. Daryll Joyner of the DEP Bureau of Watershed Management says he is uncertain how many water-bodies will drop off the state list of the more than 700 impaired waterbodies. Environmentalists believe the rule could exclude as many as 200 Florida waterbodies. David Guest from Earthjustice said the agency was subject to intense pressure from polluters. Originally the EPA made 41 objections to rule, primarily because it made it so difficult to prove a waterbody is impaired. Now under the current administration, the EPA is proposing similar measures to weaken the impaired waters provision of the Clean Water Act.