FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2020
Contacts: Ryan Smart, Florida Springs Council, smarts421@gmail.com, 561-358-7191
David Cullen, Sierra Club, cullenasea@aol.com,
941-323-2404
Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper, lisa@stjohnsriverkeeper.org, 904-509-3260
FLAWED CLEAN WATERWAYS ACT
GETS THE ROYAL GREENWASH
TALLAHASSEE—Today, in a press release from Senator Mayfield and Representatives
Ingoglia and Payne, the “Clean Waterways Act” was declared “groundbreaking” but
offered no facts to back up their claim. For more than three weeks, Florida
Springs Council, Florida Waterkeepers, and Sierra Club have been asking Senator
Mayfield to “fix” the bill, but two Committee Stops later, Senate Bill 712
remains fatally flawed.
Dave Cullen, Sierra Club lobbyist said: "Legislators always say, 'Don't oppose my
bill; tell me how to make it better.' We did that. We wrote 18
amendments with rationales explaining why they are necessary and how the
amendments would make Florida's laws for water quality better. They
haven't pointed to a single error in what we've presented, but they reject it
just the same. Apparently, it's just not politically
possible. They even point out that big business likes
the bill just as it is. The public should not
expect improvements in our state's water quality any time soon unless this bill
is amended for the better on the floor."
Ryan Smart, Florida Springs Council Executive
Director, responded with: “At the last Senate Committee Hearing on SB 712, more
than a dozen volunteers from across Florida came to Tallahassee to ask for a
stronger bill that would actually protect Florida’s springs and rivers. Two
highly-paid lobbyists asked for the bill to be weakened to protect Nestlé’s
right to extract huge amounts of spring water for free. Guess who got their
way? SB 712 and HB 1343 are neither
historic nor comprehensive. They fail to address the most significant sources
of pollution to our springs and rivers and ensure another generation of dirty
water. They are the best bills polluters will allow, which is not nearly good
enough to be worth celebrating.”
Jen Lomberk, Matanzas
Riverkeeper, added: “Proponents of the bill laud the initiation of rulemaking to address
things like septic systems and stormwater, but this is not a novel undertaking.
Over ten years ago a technical advisory
committee set out to update the stormwater rules, and after many presentations,
workshops, and revisions, the rule was never adopted. Add that to
the fact that the bill
relies on the current BMAP program which itself has proven ineffective. Many BMAPs for Outstanding Florida Springs, which are
significantly stronger than the BMAPs in SB 712, are only capable of achieving
a small fraction of the pollution reduction necessary for clean water. Furthermore, the reliance on current best
management practices to address agriculture pollution ignores the science and
DEP’s own admission that these practices won’t achieve water quality goals. Top
this off with grant programs subject to appropriations that, based on the
legislature’s track record of funding conservation programs, may never come to pass, and reports
and studies that will kick the can down the road for another 10 years, and you
have a bill sorely in need of the fix we have been
requesting.”
Cris Costello, Sierra Club Organizing Manager
said: “Mayfield, Payne and Ingoglia say
the bill is ‘the biggest comprehensive environmental package
to have been introduced to the legislature in Florida’s recent history’ – but
that isn’t saying much at all. The last
so-called ‘comprehensive’ water bill was passed in 2016, and the environmental
community – 52 organizations and coalitions from across the state – asked then
Governor Rick Scott to veto it, because then, like today, the bill was window
dressing only. This Clean Waterways Act
is another greenwash for legislators and the Governor.”
Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper, stated: “Toxic green algae
outbreaks are increasing in duration and frequency threatening our waterways
and our health. In 2019, the St. Johns River experienced more than 90 days of
outbreaks impacting more than 50% of our River. This legislation will not
offset rapid water quality deterioration and is not cause for celebration.
Floridians deserve strong, enforceable water quality protections now.”
On February 3, the Florida Springs Council, Florida Waterkeepers, and
Sierra Club sent a letter to Senator Mayfield and other legislators asking for
18 amendments to SB 712 that would address the most serious flaws with the
bill. On February 12, in response to
public comments made by Chief Science Officer Thomas K. Frazer regarding the
bill, the same groups sent a twelve-page letter to Frazer that included a full
and documented explanation of the bill’s many failures. Since February 3, responses, both formal and
informal, from Senator Mayfield, DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein, and the Chief
Science Officer have ignored the glaring inadequacies of this legislation.
We no longer have the luxury of taking
incremental steps to try to address our water quality issues. We need strong,
enforceable, science-based regulations that protect our waters now and SB 712
does not do that as it is currently written.
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