skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Florida Legislators Vote on "Save Our Springs" Bill

play audio
Play

Monday, April 6, 2009   

Florida is home to the largest concentration of freshwater springs in the world, 700 in all, but environmental groups say the springs are suffering from pollution because of septic tank, storm water and fertilizer runoff.

Help may be on the way: the state Senate Committee for Community Affairs is voting today on a bill that would create "spring protection zones" requiring better application of fertilizer, high-performance septic tanks, and more careful land use planning in nearby areas to help protect the springs from human pollution.

Julie Wraithmell, wildlife policy coordinator for Audubon of Florida, says it's high time.

"The springs are in a rapid state of decline, and we can't afford to have to tell our children 20 years from now that we had a chance to save this resource, and we didn't."

She says national parks with springs bring more than two million people to Florida's rural communities each year, generating more than seven million dollars in revenue. And in these tight economic times, she says, attendance is up at nature's playgrounds.

"Having one of these eco-tourist destinations in your community is an important factor in maintaining jobs in your area and helping to recover from the current economic slump."

Wraithmell says the springs are also the window to Florida's aquifer, and if they continue to decline it could affect drinking water and the health of wildlife. She says most of all it is important to preserve the springs for future generations.

"Florida's springs are very much a part of who we are as a state. I think anyone that's ever been to a spring recognizes just what special places they are."

Developers argue that high-performance septic tanks would drive their costs up too much, and additional land use rules are too restrictive. Wraithmell however says developers would have cost savings in other areas, and saving the springs would save jobs.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

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

play sound

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 …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

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

play sound

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

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021