FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, December 18, 2013 A bipartisan group of senators is poised to introduce legislation to protect Florida’s natural springs in what they expect to be the first in a series of measures aimed at improving lake, river and aquifer conditions statewide.
Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, one of the authors of the pending legislation, said a focus of the measure would set goals for the reduction of nutrients that pour into the springs.
The proposal, still being finalized, comes as an equally ambitious proposal has already started to advance in the Senate that would focus on South Florida waterways and as the next House and Senate leaders have declared the state’s water supply to be a key issue of their terms.
“I think it’s a realization by senators, particularly the incoming leadership of the House and Senate, that our environment is a tremendous asset and one that is jeopardized right now,” Simmons said. “Not to say we didn’t realize it previously. I think everyone did. But the time to act is now. If we don’t act now the cost of cleanup is going to far transcend the cost of prevention.”
Simmons said the proposal will encourage the use of recycled water and water storage for farmers and developers, limit how much water can be withdrawn from the spring sheds, and create protection zones intended to reduce pollutants from entering the water bodies.
The funding needed and the revenue sources have yet to be set, Simmons said.
Audubon of Florida estimates that the work needed to increase the flow of water into the natural springs that run throughout central and northern Florida, while reducing pollutants entering the springs, could cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The biggest expense would be the need to purchase land around the springs.
Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida, called the growing attention from state lawmakers on the need to address water issues “exciting,” but added that he’s still waiting to see what measures are actually proposed.
“I think the test will be whether these legislators have the stomach to actually regulate the pollution that is going into the springs,” Draper said. “The Legislature will eventually need to go to the source of the problem.”
Draper considers land acquisition the top priority, followed by managing the recharge areas that ensure rainfall goes into the ground to help re-supply the springs.
Other key areas to address are the minimum flow levels that can determine if a spring is facing harm and the expensive proposition of replacing septic tanks with centralized sewage systems, Draper said.
Will Abberger, the chairman of the Florida’s Water and Land Legacy constitutional amendment campaign and director of conservation finance for The Trust for Public Land, was equally hopeful that lawmakers will take meaningful action on water quality and quantity issues.
“I don’t know what their motivation is, I hope they’re beginning to understand what a huge need this is for the state,” Abberger said.
Abberger’s group is proposing a constitutional amendment that would funnel $10 billion over 20 years into land-conservation and environmental efforts.
The pending springs legislation is the joint effort of Sens. Simmons, Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee.
“We’ve sat down and have gone over it line by line, making sure everybody is satisfied with the language,” Simmons said of the pending legislation.
Simpson on Monday introduced a separate measure (SB 536) that would require the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the five water-management districts to study the factors that prohibit or complicate the expansion of reclaimed — recycled or irrigation quality — water in Florida.
The study, which would be due before the 2016 legislative session, would also seek recommendations on how to eliminate those impediments.
The springs proposal is being floated as the next Senate president, Orlando Republican Andy Gardiner, pitched a “workable” statewide policy for protecting Florida’s natural resources on Dec. 10 during his speech accepting the leadership position for the 2015 and 2016 sessions.
“We all know that Florida’s economy is tied to tourism, but there is no reason why it can’t be tied to ecotourism,” Gardiner said.
Gardiner is expected to partner on water issues with Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who is slated to become the next House Speaker. Crisafulli had earlier announced he wanted lawmakers to take a broader approach to the vast water problems that confront Florida.
The springs proposal will run alongside an ambitious $220 million plan to redirect water and reduce pollutants out of Lake Okeechobee and through the Florida Everglades by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, the chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee.
Simmons said the springs proposal shouldn’t conflict with Negron’s plan, which has already started to move through the Senate.
“We all benefit from Indian River Lagoon being cleaned up as well as the springs,” Simmons said.
Because of the attention given to the problems confronted throughout the summer by South Florida’s waterways, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has said lawmakers needed to remain focused on water quality and quantity issues statewide.
Besides the springs and issues with Lake Okeechobee, 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.
For the 2014 session, Putnam’s department has proposed $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 springs.
The Department of Environmental Protection, which has included $15 million for springs restoration in its budget proposal, is also requesting $75 million that Gov. Rick Scott proposed for Everglades restoration efforts and $40 million for environmental land acquisition.