Southwest members of the Sierra Club are moving forward with plans to sue the Florida Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) and Mote Marine Laboratories, claiming that research money has failed to address the role of land-based nutrients in red tide blooms. The environmental group is also leery over proposals to use phosphatic clay and ozone to destroy the blooms, a practice common in waters off Japan and Korea.

Sierra Club Calusa Group Chairwoman Lori Glenn instead advocates reducing nutrient pollution--from agricultural, phosphate mining and urban sources--into the Gulf of Mexico.

“We need to hold the polluters accountable, not the taxpayers,” said Glenn.

FWRI and Mote officials didn’t want to comment on the possible lawsuit, but FWRI Director Gil McRae disagreed with the Sierra Club’s contention that nutrients were being overlooked, saying they are part of ongoing red tide research.