TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dec. 3, 2013 – As the Florida Senate pursues an
ambitious $220 million plan to redirect water and reduce pollutants in
South Florida, the next House speaker wants lawmakers to consider a
broader approach to the vast water problems confronting the entire
state.
Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, wants lawmakers to factor in
water issues faced by the agriculture industry and drinking-water
sources, as well as problems facing Florida’s freshwater springs, the
Apalachicola River region in Florida’s Panhandle and the northern Indian
River Lagoon, as they prepare to allocate money for water-resource
projects in next year’s budget.
“The water issues need to be approached in a comprehensive fashion,”
Crisafulli said Monday. “It’s important we don’t get too laser-focused
on one region of the state, but look at it from the standpoint of the
overall needs of the state.”
The directive from Crisafulli, who is in line to become House speaker in
November 2014, sets up expected political horse-trading over funding
for water issues between the House and Senate at a time when the
Legislature has the prospects of a budget surplus entering the session.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who chairs the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, crafted the Senate plan.
Negron’s plan was initially conceived with a focus on improving water
quality in the St. Lucie estuary, which during the summer was inundated
with nutrient-heavy waters released from nearby Lake Okeechobee under
the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As the plan advanced out of Negron’s Select Committee on Indian River
Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin, it included proposals by Gov. Rick
Scott to increase the flow of water to the south, and by Senate Majority
Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Ft. Myers, to assist the Caloosahatchee
Estuary on the west side of the state.
“It’s exciting to see state leaders competing over who will do the most
for the environment,” said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of
Florida. “This is something we haven’t seen in a long time.”
Draper, who has complimented Negron for being able to quickly put
together a plan, agreed Monday with most of the general approach pitched
by Crisafulli.
Negron said he doesn’t believe a proposed statewide approach will impact the Lake Okeechobee and Everglades improvement plan.
“The more focus we have on water policies the better,” Negron said. “We can do more than one thing at one time.”
Negron noted that more than $10 million was budgeted for freshwater
springs in the 2013 session and he expects more will be done next year.
Also, the South Florida plan includes proposals to clean water that
enters the lake from the Orlando region and $20 million to remove muck
from the northern Indian River Lagoon that stretches into Crisafulli’s
area of the Space Coast.
Crisafulli’s general proposal is intended to “reject a limited parochial
view” and provide flexible policies that water managers can adapt to
rapidly changing circumstances that range from the pending impact of
hurricanes to decisions of neighboring states on Florida’s water supply.
Crisafulli said putting a premium on water issues that benefit the state would be a priority of his term as House speaker.
In an opinion piece for the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, Crisafulli wrote
that “focusing on one community at a time in a piecemeal approach can
lead to new problems down the road.”
His focus will be primarily getting “tangible” projects in place rather than instituting new policies.
Crisafulli’s comments echo sentiments from Agriculture Commissioner Adam
Putnam that lawmakers need to remember that South Florida isn’t the
only part of the state where water quality and quantity have become dire
issues.
“There is an extraordinary bias to the south at the expense of the
springs and Apalachicola Bay,” Putnam told reporters on Nov. 18.
Florida has filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia about a shortage of
freshwater flowing into Apalachicola Bay. Florida argues that heavy
water consumption in the metro Atlanta area has reduced downstream flows
into the bay, endangering Apalachicola’s oyster industry.
The budget proposal from Putnam’s department for the 2014 session
includes $10 million to address nutrient reduction practices and water
retention efforts in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, $8.2 million for
best management practices in the northern Everglades, and $5.2 million
to reduce agricultural nutrients from reaching the state’s northern
freshwater springs.
The Department of Environmental Protection has included in its budget
proposals $75 million that Gov. Rick Scott proposed for Everglades
restoration efforts, $40 million for environmental land acquisition, and
$15 million for springs restoration, up from the $10 million designated
during the 2013 session.
Scott, who will offer a budget plan before the 2014 legislative session, is considering the proposals.
The governor has a couple of items among Negron’s list, including $90
million that would be spread over three years to bridge a 2.6-mile
section of the Tamiami Trail west of Miami.
Other provisions in the Senate plan include $40 million to speed
construction of the state’s portion of a C-44 reservoir and stormwater
treatment area for the Indian River Lagoon-South Restoration Project;
$32 million for projects tied to ensuring that all surface-water
discharges into the Everglades Protection Area meet water quality
standards; and a request for the Army Corps to give DEP authority to
regulate releases when the risk of dike failure around Lake Okeechobee
is less than 10 percent.
Source: News Service of Florida, Jim Turner
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