FROM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
By JIM TURNER
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 4, 2015……….The House is set Thursday to approve a measure that would alter water policies across the state, implementing changes that have been backed by business groups and drawn the ire of environmentalists.
House members Wednesday reviewed the wide-ranging measure (HB 7003), which was rushed through the committee process as lawmakers work to implement a number of changes needed to match a voter-approved constitutional amendment about land and water conservation.
The House’s water policy focuses on the state’s natural springs, management of water across Central Florida and the flow of water out of Lake Okeechobee.
The plan was crafted separately from measures that are expected to address the increased funding that voters approved in the November constitutional amendment for water and land projects. How the money is eventually used isn’t expected to be settled until late in the 60-day legislative session, which began Tuesday.
House State Affairs Chairman Matt Caldwell, a North Fort Myers Republican who has spearheaded the water bill, dismissed concerns about opposition.
“By and large the detractors, I find, just think there are other things we should be doing in addition to this,” Caldwell said after Wednesday’s floor session. “Here is a product that meets the expectations of most stakeholders, and I think it’s a good product.”
House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, argued there is little regulatory “teeth” to the changes, which have no dollars attached and received little committee oversight.
“What you had is a (proposed committee bill) pop up in State Affairs, hit Appropriations without a dollar, and then end up on the floor,” Pafford said. “I don’t think that is a great way to establish a comprehensive water policy when the bill misses Apalachicola (Bay) and everything south of Lake Okeechobee.
Despite his concerns, Pafford said he couldn’t say that all Democrats will vote in opposition.
The policy changes, which differ from several key parts of a Senate proposal (SB 918), in part would impose what are known as “best management practices” for natural springs, the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee. Also, water-management districts would be directed to implement a water-management plan across Central Florida.
Environmentalists contend that “best management practices” are simply guidelines that fail to mandate needed improvements.
David Guest, managing attorney for Earthjustice in Florida, released a statement after the floor session saying the House measure protects “developers and Big Ag at the expense of the public.”
Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper, a lobbyist on environmental issues, said supporters of the constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 1, are more focused on the Senate’s water policy approach.
“Our goal for today was just to try and get enough debate so the Senate says, ‘Wait a minute this is not a kumbaya bill,’ ” Draper said after the House session.
The Senate version is heavily focused on protecting the state’s natural springs, which were among Florida’s first tourist attractions and now also are used as sources for bottled water.
Unlike in the Senate approach, the House does not include springs-protection zones, which would regulate the impact of septic tanks and the flow of storm water and agricultural runoff into springs.
The House plan also doesn’t address the declining status of the dike around Lake Okeechobee or the Panhandle’s Apalachicola Bay, which continues to be enmeshed in a legal battle between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over upstream waters.
Caldwell said those are issues that need to be addressed by the federal government.