By MICHAEL PELTIER – THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA – THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 7, 2012……….State environmental regulators acted properly late last year when they enacted water quality standards less rigid than specific federal numeric requirements, an administrative law judge ruled Thursday in a closely watched case.
Rejecting arguments from a coalition of environmental groups, Florida Administrative Law Judge Bram Canter ruled the Department of Environmental Protection acted within its authority when it proposed a slate of water quality criteria less rigid than federal standards preferred by environmentalists.
Florida lawmakers earlier this year unanimously approved the DEP water standards, which came in response to federal standards sent down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010.
The seeds of the battle, however, go back to 1998, when the EPA ordered Florida and other states to come up with more stringent freshwater standards. After a decade without state action and in response to a lawsuit, the federal agency in 2009 imposed its own numeric criteria on Florida freshwater bodies. State officials from both parties said the standards were too unyielding.
Last year, DEP issued an alternative state set of criteria that retained portions of the state’s existing rules.
In December, a group led by the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club and others filed a petition with the Division of Administrative Hearings challenging the new state rules.
On Thursday, DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard was quick to applaud the ruling, saying it validates agency’s effort to develop water quality rules that are effective yet take into account the unique hydrology and diversity of Florida’s fresh water bodies.
“We have crafted not only standards, but also the rules detailing implementation of the standards,” Vinyard said in a statement. “Our rules provide a clear process for identifying waters impaired by nutrients, preventing harmful discharges and establishing necessary reductions.”
Business groups that backed DEP’s actions last year and intervened in the case say the judge’s ruling opens the door for final resolution of the issue. They urged EPA to quickly give final approval to the new standards.
“The Florida Legislature and now Judge Canter have confirmed that DEP has set the right course for setting our water quality standards,” said Tom Feeney, CEO of Associated Industries of Florida, in a statement. “This is a state issue and should continue to be regulated by the state based on sound science.”
Plaintiffs in the case were disappointed, saying the new rules favor developers and agricultural interests that would have face tougher requirements.
“The polluters won today and the people lost,” said Earthjustice attorney David Guest. “We need to be setting enforceable limits on this pollution, and now that won’t happen. This is a sad day.”
Environmental groups argue that sewage, run-off and other factors accelerate the growth of toxic algae, creating blooms that are dangerous to wildlife and humans. State standards won’t be effective because they don’t kick in until after water body is impaired, critics contend.
“This is a bad day for Floridians and for Florida wildlife,” said Florida Wildlife Federation President Manley Fuller. “It is sad, because this pollution really is preventable – we just need to set firm limits on it and enforce them. It’s really common sense.”
But in a 58-page ruling, Canter said attorneys for the environmental groups failed to convince him that the agency action overstepped its authority and that Florida’s standards wouldn’t work.
“Petitioners’ argument seems to draw on common sense; if there has been widespread nutrient pollution in Florida waters, then the Department’s water quality criterion for nutrients is not preventing pollution,” Canter wrote. “However, proving that nutrient pollution has not been prevented is not the same thing as proving that the narrative criterion is the cause.”
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6/7/12
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