FDEP spent the summer drafting a state rule that would replace the EPA numeric nutrient criteria – act now to stop them

Fanning Springs 2011

This FDEP draft rule has been embraced by many opponents of the EPA Rule for the obvious reasons:  1. It would allow the continued discharge of sewage, animal manure and fertilizer pollution into most of the state’s water resources; 2. It would keep the burden of prevention and clean-up costs on the taxpayer and off industry polluters; and 3. It would give the state legislature control of the nutrient pollution issue.

However, FDEP has made it clear throughout the drafting process that the decision to go forward with rule-making depends on having public support to do so.

We have the opportunity for the next 3 weeks to bombard FDEP with comments against the draft rule and prove that Floridians do not want less protection for our water bodies but rather, we want more protection. 

We can send a clear message to FDEP if we mobilize ourselves, our members and our allies.

Comments can be provided directly on the webpage (2000 character limit) or posted as attachments to the webpage.  The link to the public comments webpage is here. 

Comments opposing the FDEP draft rule should be submitted by October 18.  The “deadline” for technical comments on the draft is Wednesday, September 28.

You can view the comments submitted to FDEP on their proposed rule by way of the Department’s nutrient criteria webpage here. 

Read more for a Policy Alert that includes some easy talking points.

Obama Delays Smog Protections until at least 2013

September 2, 2011 Contact: Oliver Bernstein, 512-289-8618 'Clean Air Will Have to Wait' – Obama Delays Smog Protections until at least 2013 Pressure from Polluters Leads to Missed Opportunity to Protect Our Kids from Dirty Air and Asthma Washington, D.C. – Today, President Obama announced that he has requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards that would have protected Americans from air pollution. In response, Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, issued the following statement: "The Sierra Club condemns the Obama administration's decision to delay critical, long-overdue protections from smog, an acidic air pollutant that when inhaled is like getting a sunburn on your lungs. By putting the interest of coal and oil polluters first, the White House seems to be saying that 'clean air will have to wait.' "A healthy economy requires clean air and healthy people, and these protections from smog would have improved our communities and saved billions of dollars in health costs. Half of U.S. families live in places where it is literally unsafe to breathe the air, and kicking the inhaler down the road will do nothing to protect our children. "We thank the scientists and public health professionals at the EPA for their commitment to science, and we look forward to the day when strong clean air protections will prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks. The Sierra Club and the millions of Americans who have suffered through orange and red-alert air quality days this record-breaking summer will continue to push the Obama Administration to improve this protection in order to save lives and clean up our air." ### Sierra Club85 2nd St. San Francisco, CA 94105 sierra.news@sierraclub.org www.sierraclub.org/pressroom