Everglades Pollution Bill
(HB 7065)
gives the sugar industry a free ride.
The House
Appropriations Committee will vote on this bill at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March
14.
Call your state Representative now!
The Sierra Club opposes HB 7065, a bill that seeks to
drastically weaken Everglades cleanup standards to benefit the sugar industry.
The ailing Everglades
cannot afford delay. Its waters cannot be restored until polluting phosphorus
effluent discharged by the sugar industry is cleaned up.
HB 7065 lets the sugar companies off the hook.
- The bill caps the sugar companies’
share of the $880 million cleanup leaving the bulk on on the shoulders of
taxpayers.
- It does not require the sugar industry to further reduce phosphorus coming
off their lands.
- It doesn’t require the sugar companies
to pay their fair share of the rising cost of cleanup and leaves the industry’s
meager share at 14 percent of 1994 levels.
HB 7065 jumps the gun.
- It tries to legalize on the state
level a bad cleanup proposal that must ultimately be decided by the Federal
Court.
- It is highly unlikely the Federal
Court would agree to this proposal that lets the sugar industry off the hook
- It is a waste of state resources to
pass a bill until a cleanup plan has been agreed to by the Federal Court.
- This bill allows the sugar industry to
pollute in the same way they have been doing for years.
- It takes away State accountability.
This bill was written
for the benefit of the sugar industry. It creates potential conflicts with
Federal rules and the Courts and allows polluters to continue their business as
usual at the expense of the Everglades and taxpayers.
Take Action!
Check the list below
and see if your Representative is on it. Call him or her, then call as many as
you can starting with the counties closest to you.
Tell the Representatives to vote against HB 7065 to protect the Everglades and the drinking water supply for almost 8 million people.
Tell the Representatives to vote against HB 7065 to protect the Everglades and the drinking water supply for almost 8 million people.
House Appropriations Committee 2013
