Environmentalists: Florida Isn't Ready to Manage Its Waterways
Thursday, January 17, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. - Protests are planned today in Tampa in response to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement of the Clean Water Act in Florida. The federal government announced in November it would uphold strict numeric limits for 85 percent of Florida waters, after the state failed to do so. The concern now is that the EPA could hand over control of more waterways to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Manley Fuller is president of the Florida Wildlife Federation. He says state regulations don't go far enough to prevent pollution, and applying them to more water sources would be a mistake.
"One of the problems with the state rule is it's extremely complex and it never gets to enforcement. If there is a problem, you study it more, but they never take any enforcement action."
Fuller and others point to evidence of pollution in Florida waters, including green slime and fish kills, as evidence that the state enforcement has not gone far enough.
A major contributor to water quality problems in the state is the run-off of manure, sewage and fertilizer into state waterways. Jennifer Hecker with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida says the EPA needs to maintain jurisdiction of Florida waters because of what she calls "inadequate standards" and a lack of state staff to enforce regulations.
"There is a role for the federal government when the state has failed to do its job. We know that the state has not adequately dealt with water quality and we need EPA's involvement to bring us back on course."
Recently, Sarasota County had to remove 4.5 tons of rotting fish from public beaches after a red tide, and the state has banned shell fishing in some areas.
Today's public meeting is from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Tampa Hotel; tomorrow's meeting is scheduled from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
get more stories like this via email
Health and Wellness
Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…
Social Issues
Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …
Social Issues
Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …
Environment
New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …
Social Issues
Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …
Social Issues
Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…