(NSF) — A Leon County circuit judge has said a trial is needed in part of a long-running lawsuit about how the Legislature carried out a 2014 constitutional amendment aimed at land and water conservation. Environmental groups in October asked Circuit Judge Charles Dodson to grant summary judgment finding that some state budget items from 2015 and 2016 violated the …
Supreme Court Set to Hear Water Battle
(NSF) — After years of battling between Florida and Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court next month will again take up a dispute about water in a river system that links the two states. The Supreme Court last week scheduled oral arguments Feb. 22 in the case about divvying up water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, which stretches from northern Georgia …
DeSantis Calls Reservoir ‘A Top Environmental Priority’
(NSF) — Gov. Ron DeSantis backed a controversial reservoir being built in the Everglades while announcing the state will use a pool of environmental money to help Miami-Dade County protect Biscayne Bay from continued degradation. DeSantis said his office will continue to support the $1.6 billion Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, which was approved by the Legislature in 2017 but has …
Backroom Briefing: Simpson Not a Fan of Reservoir
(NSF) — Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-FL/District 10) said he wasn’t sold on a $1.6 billion reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee when he voted in 2017 for the project, which was a priority of then-President Joe Negron, R-Stuart. And with the coronavirus pandemic punching a $3 billion to $4 billion hole in the state budget for next fiscal year, Simpson …
Facts of the Flow: Lake Okeechobee, 2020 Year-to-Date
(SFWMD) — Here is the latest update on inflows into Lake Okeechobee for the calendar year to date. This data is provided by SFWMD’s DBHYDRO database. There has been no back-pumping into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area this year. Source: South Florida Water Management District
Insurance, Water Issues on the Table for Legislative Session
(NSF) — Florida senators will be asked to eliminate the state’s no-fault auto insurance option and increase spending to repair the state’s natural springs, the incoming Senate president said Thursday. Senate President-designate Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, told business leaders that lawmakers meeting for the 2021 legislative session also will need to consider efforts to keep polluted Central Florida waters from flowing …
Facts of the Flow: Lake Okeechobee, 2020 Year-to-Date
(SFWMD) — Here is the latest update on inflows into Lake Okeechobee for the calendar year to date. This data is provided by SFWMD’s DBHYDRO database. There has been no back-pumping into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area this year. Source: South Florida Water Management District
Florida Preps for Algae Blooms from Lake Releases
(NSF) — Measures are in place to offset potential blue-green algae blooms after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started Wednesday to schedule water releases from lower Lake Okeechobee, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. A news release late Wednesday said the department and the South Florida Water Management District are prepared to use “innovative technology” if needed …
Facts of the Flow: Lake Okeechobee, 2020 Year-to-Date
(SFWMD) — Here is the latest update on inflows into Lake Okeechobee for the calendar year to date. This data is provided by SFWMD’s DBHYDRO database. There has been no back-pumping into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area this year. Source: South Florida Water Management District
Facts of the Flow: Lake Okeechobee, 2020 Year-to-Date
(SFWMD) — Here is the latest update on inflows into Lake Okeechobee for the calendar year to date. This data is provided by SFWMD’s DBHYDRO database. There has been no back-pumping into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area this year. Source: South Florida Water Management District