JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A local environmental group intends to sue the JEA, claming the city-owned utility illegally dumped 7 million gallons of untreated sewage water into a Duval County waterway.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper filed notice Tuesday that it will pursue legal action against the Clean Water Act for releasing 5 million gallons of untreated water from the JEA's Arlington East Wastewater Treatment Facility into Hogpen Creek on Nov. 1.

The group also claims to have Florida Department of Environmental Protection documents showing 43 previous permit violations at that facility between September 2001 and February 2004.

"We felt like we had no choice but to file a 60-day notice to hold JEA accountable for continuing to violate its permit," said St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon. "The recent five-million gallon spill was the straw that broke the camel's back."

The environmental group hopes legal action will force state regulators to fine the JEA for the violations.

Armingeon said the plant's performance has been the subject of negotiations between JEA and DEP for years, but fines for violations have been doing down -- from $203,000 in 2004 to only $85,000 this year.