GOVERNOR SIGNS POLLUTERS’ WATERWAYS ACT: Why is DeSantis Ignoring Blue Green Algae Task Force Recommendations?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 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

**PRESS RELEASE**

JUNO BEACH—Governor DeSantis surprised no one today when he signed the misnamed “Clean Waterways Act,” SB 712, after it was escorted to passage in both chambers of the state legislature by Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein. 

Florida Springs Council, Waterkeepers Florida, and Sierra Club urged legislators to “fix” SB 712 and provided pragmatic amendments to make the bill more protective of water quality, but what Governor DeSantis signed today is the result of weakening, over and over again, the language to fit the needs of the state’s biggest polluters.

On June 18, 2020, the organizations sent a side-by-side comparison of the provisions of SB 712 and the Blue Green Algae Task Force recommendations to the Governor so that he could see, in black and white, for himself, that the claims made by the bill supporters do not hold water.  

Ryan Smart, Florida Springs Council Executive Director, responded with:  “SB 712 will only make our water quality problems worse in the long run. It provides political cover for a Legislature and Governor that refuse to make the tough choices necessary to address this crisis. SB 712 does nothing to reduce nutrient pollution in Florida’s many impaired, algae-choked springs.” 

Dave Cullen, Sierra Club lobbyist said:  “SB 712 is all promise and no delivery.  It preserves the Florida status quo: pretend that the requirements in law are working when they’re not, and kick the can down the road.  The bill fails to require polluters to reduce the damage they cause our waters enough to bring them back to health.  And what little it promises is dependent on future funding (good luck with that the next few years), and new rules which will have to be ratified by the same legislature that refused to pass a law that would actually do something important.”

Jen Lomberk, Vice-Chair of Waterkeepers Florida, added:  “The Blue Green Algae Task Force identified some huge issues that desperately need to be addressed by our state water quality managers. Currently Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) fail to incorporate projected changes in land use and hydrology, and the presumption of compliance for Best Management Practices (BMPs) and stormwater systems is not supported by scientific data. SB 712 doesn’t fix any of these problems; it just doubles down on the same broken water regulatory system that got us into this mess in the first place.”

Cris Costello, Sierra Club Senior Organizing Manager said:  “If you are celebrating the signing of SB 712 today, you have either sold out to or been taken in by the state’s major polluters.  This is no victory for clean water and certainly no victory for the state.  When the Governor and legislature actually listen to the Blue Green Algae Task Force, rather than ignore it, we will have something to applaud.”

On February 3, the Florida Springs Council, Waterkeepers Florida, 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 of 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.  Responses, both formal and informal, from Senator Mayfield, DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein, and the Chief Science Officer failed to refute any of our arguments and continue to blithely ignore the glaring inadequacies of this legislation.

June 18, 2020: Side-by-Side Comparison between the Blue Green Algae Task Force Recommendations and the Provisions of Senate Bill 712:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tq7X_DiNDQeUq2oMcEoz6-42hN7cxIl-/view?usp=sharing

February 20, 2020: Photos from Senate Appropriations Committee:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bDyqhqvCG1RGRPzGbuTPdCqNhXObevz6/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uE7hD1jg0RNG0VxP8Z4SDvRtKDvWLB61/view?usp=sharing

February 12, 2020:  Letter to Thomas K. Frazer:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f4vO-cXzNkrY85f1xlkrzK4wPrip2AXU/view?usp=sharing

February 3, 2020:  Letter to Senator Mayfield:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fvrc3oe0My5SdzQn-CYni6-7NS_O3Kwb/view?usp=sharing

18 proposed amendments:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/19Mc-VhrxDpfuV-IGcx-N3pbe0PBwy5xc/view?usp=sharing

GOVERNOR DESANTIS CONTINUES TO FLOUT HOME RULE BY ENDING KEY WEST’S SUNSCREEN ORDINANCE

For Immediate Release                                     
June 29, 2020
Contact: Deborah Foote, 850.727.4039, deborah.foote@sierraclub.org

**PRESS RELEASE**

TALLAHASSEE, FL. (June 39, 2020)- When it comes to home rule, Governor DeSantis seems conflicted. On one hand, he delegates authority to deal with a pandemic outbreak to counties and to decide on school reopenings to local school districts. But when it comes to protecting Florida’s Coral Reef, he sides with corporate interests, despite the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on reef preservation and restoration.

By signing Senate Bill 172, Governor DeSantis harms home rule, strips Key West of its reef protection sunscreen ordinance, and jeopardizes one of Florida’s most precious and unique natural resources.

This action is directly contrary to Florida’s Coral Reef, a new awareness campaign and website created by the Governor's Florida Department of Environmental Protection and twenty-five partner organizations, including NOAA, Florida State Parks, the Coral Restoration Foundation, and others. The website urges the public to “Check sunscreen active ingredients. Some chemicals commonly found in popular sunscreens have been shown to negatively impact marine life.” This message is reflective of a widely accepted body of science which shows oxybenzone and octinoxate damage the health and reproduction of coral reefs. Alternatives to these chemical sunscreens are affordable, effective, and widely available.

SB 172 is a direct attack on home rule and the City of Key West’s coral reef protection ordinance. Coral reefs in southeast Florida have an asset value of $8.5 billion, generating $4.4 billion in local sales, $2 billion in local income, and 70,400 full and part-time jobs. They also are imperiled.

“When the state should be doing it all it can to protect this valuable natural and economic resource, the Governor has done the opposite. Apparently local governments can be trusted to manage the pandemic response, but not to keep harmful sunscreen off of store shelves. Where is the logic in that?” Deborah Foote, Sierra Club.

“SB 172 is yet another example of the legislature forcing a one size fits none solution for Florida communities. Rather than taking a stand for local control and environmental protection, the Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis have stripped Floridians of the ability to protect one of the state’s most precious ecological and economic assets, the Florida Reef Tract.” Holly Parker Curry, Surfrider Foundation.

“Local democracy is critical to the health, safety, and prosperity of our communities. Floridians must have the power to craft and implement our own local solutions. On SB 172, Governor DeSantis had a choice. He could stand with the communities who are working to protect their cherished coral reefs and their local economy, or with the greedy corporations who value their profits over the environment. By signing this bill into law, he stood with the latter.” Ida V. Eskamani, of Organize Florida

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Sierra Club Florida Launches First Political Intern Program

Late this Spring, the Sierra Club Florida Political Action Committee launched its inaugural class of Political Interns. This summer, eight interns are embedded in seven campaigns- and we have plans for two dozen interns this fall!

Intern recruitment was done through a variety of channels including college internship web platforms, college political organizations, and Sierra Club members. Political Director Deborah Foote and Suwannee/St. John Political Chair Scott Camil screened all the applications and conducted the candidate interviews.

The interns directly assist state and local candidates running for public office that have been endorsed by Sierra Club Florida. They received training on the basic skills of campaign organizing, education on environmental issues of key importance, and general administrative and reporting responsibilities. Deborah provides ongoing support to the interns- from answering questions on how to locate research on an environmental issue to communicate effectively with campaign staff.

The candidates have been overwhelmingly appreciative of this valuable resource and this intern program provides Sierra Club Florida with an opportunity to build deeper relationships with current and future political leaders.

Meet three of our summer interns!

Elizabeth Pruitt

Elizabeth is a first-year student at Florida State University. She is  working with Patricia Sigman's Senate District 9 campaign. She is a Presidential Scholar at FSU, the foremost undergraduate merit scholarship at this institution. Recently she completed an internship with Environment Florida where she worked to make FSU commit to 100% renewable energy dependence by 2035. She also is a research assistant under internationally recognized Public Administration professor Dr. Richard Feiock studying healthy, sustainable cities and infrastructure.

Glorimar Rivera Zamorano

Glorimar is a Miami resident and a student at the University of Central Florida, majoring in Environmental Studies. She is working to re-elect  Cindy Polo as the Representative from House District 103. Glorimar previously served as an Executive Intern at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens where she gained valuable professional skills such as educational outreach, data collection, and horticulture management. Glorimar is fluent in Spanish, a valuable asset in a district that is over 75% Hispanic.

Emily Porterfield

Emily is a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida and this fall is heading to graduate school at American University. Emily just joined Julie Jenkins' campaign to win House District 60. A resident of St. Petersburg, Emily first held an internship at the United Nations Association of Orlando where she examined global environmental issues including pollution and habitat destruction. She was then promoted to Executive Director which has allowed her to grow her leadership skills including organizing events, leading chapter meetings, and overseeing the semester interns. Emily also served as an Environment and Global Change Intern at the Office of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives.

Sierra Club Florida Encourages Participation in Six Nineteen Mobilization this Weekend, June 19–21, 2020

White supremacy is a matter of life and death specifically for Black people and the planet.

The white supremacist, tragic murders of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others have renewed global demands for justice and we can’t stand by while our governments continue to fund an excessive, brutal, and discriminatory system of policing with our tax dollars. 

As one of the largest climate and environmental justice advocacy organizations, part of the Sierra Club’s mandate is to ensure that oppressed communities receive justice and experience the benefits of a healthy and sustainable future. We can never forget that the roots of the climate crisis lie in racism, land-theft, pillaging, colonialism and patriarchy. And the pain of these injustices is still felt today - Black people have been disproportionately devastated by COVID-19 and live with disproportionately higher levels of toxic pollution, and face more powerful storms, floods, heat waves, wildfires, and droughts. This powerful piece by Hop Hopkins, our Director of Strategic Partnerships, in Sierra Magazine details the inextricable connection between the  climate crisis and white supremacy.           

What is Juneteenth: 

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day when enslaved people in Texas received word from a Union Army officer that they were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. However, Juneteenth was followed by decades of lynching, mass incarceration, discriminatory housing policies, lack of economic resources, police violence and racial profiling.  While progress has been made in Black America’s 150 years out of bondage, considerable barriers continue to impede that progress.

To honor Black lives and to lay a path to freedom for future generations, the Movement for Black Lives is calling for Six Nineteen mobilization this weekend, June 19–21, 2020, where we will make a clear and distinct call to end police violence and to defund police. The Six Nineteen mobilization has three demands: Defund the Police, Invest in Black Communities, Call for Trump’s Resignation. This is a Black led mobilization- which means that Sierra Club staff and volunteers across the country must take the direction of Black leadership in your community and Sierra Club is taking the direction of Movement for Black Lives nationally because of shared principles, goals and values. 

Juneteenth is a sacred day for the Black community, and Sierra Club is standing in solidarity with Black Lives Matter for this critical action. Please read the Movement for Black Lives Six Nineteen Principles before participating in this action.

Join the #SixNineteen weekend of action in front of the White House or in your communities: www.sixnineteen.com. Virtual and in-person mobilization events are being added every day. Please ask representatives of black-led mobilization events to share information here. 

It’s time. We must lay the path to freedom for future generations NOW. Join the #SixNineteen mobilization on Juneteenth weekend, June 19–21, 2020. #DefendBlackLives 

PRESS RELEASE: GLADES ACTIVISTS TO COMMISSIONER FRIED: Walk the talk! Repair the injustice of yesterday and today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2020 
Contacts: Patrick Ferguson, patrick.ferguson@sierraclub.org, 954-288-4234 
Steve Messam, smessam@me.com, 989-400-4225

**PRESS RELEASE** 

GLADES ACTIVISTS TO COMMISSIONER FRIED: 

Walk the talk! Repair the injustice of yesterday and today

BELLE GLADE—Sierra Club and the Stop The Burn Campaign leadership, a group of local activists fighting to protect their communities from the scourge of pre-harvest sugar field burning in and around the Everglades Agricultural Area, sent a letter to Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried following her response on Twitter to the Black Lives Matter protests. The letter:

------------------------------------------------------------

June 4, 2020 

Commissioner Nikki Fried Florida 

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services 

Plaza Level 10, The Capitol 

400 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800

RE: Sugar field burning and systemic racism in the Glades 

Dear Commissioner Fried: 

We, the Stop The Burn Campaign leadership and Sierra Club, believe systemic racism is a cancerous tumor that if not treated will ultimately prove fatal to our society. Disproportionate police brutality on communities of color, mass incarceration, discriminatory lending practices, lack of access to health care, disproportionate exposure to pollution, and many other forms of racial discrimination imposed on black and brown people reflect a system that does not value all lives equally. Our collective humanity depends on laws, principals and a culture that place a value on all human life regardless of race or income. This is why both the Stop The Burn Campaign and the Sierra Club firmly stand in solidarity with protests and movements across the nation demanding an end to systemic racism in its many forms.

Our Stop The Burn Campaign is committed to addressing the environmental injustice of preharvest sugar field burning. This toxic practice disproportionately impacts the predominantly black and brown communities in the Glades, along with other communities, with smoke and dirty ash that choke our families for up to 8 months every year, while wind-based regulations were put in place decades ago to protect the affluent whiter communities in eastern Palm Beach and Martin counties. Our goal is to replace pre-harvest sugar field burning with green harvesting, a more sustainable practice that can provide new economic opportunities to the region. You recently provided a teachable moment in a tweet addressing the recent protests sparked by George Floyd’s death:

Black leaders of the Stop The Burn Campaign have been speaking out to you since even before you were elected. They have urged you to change the discriminatory rules that have harmed generations of Glades residents and create a buffer zone around their communities as a first step to protecting them from the toxic pollution caused by pre-harvest sugar field burning. You have the authority to make these changes but you have done nothing to protect us.

You can hear us again here:

•  5/6/20: Kina Phillips, resident of South Bay, at Florida Poor People's Campaign Digital Town Hall: https://bit.ly/2XPUpQE
• 11/23/19: Belle Glade protest: http://bit.ly/35rPKWY 
• 4/18/19 Florida Poor People's Campaign Belle Glade Field Hearing:http://bit.ly/2m0GkAE 

It is a shame that tragic events like the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and far too many others have to occur to draw our collective attention to the insidious injustices of systemic racism in our country. White Americans have the privilege of ignoring these many issues whereas black and brown Americans, unfortunately, have to experience such injustices as a reality day in and day out. We hope this tough time can create an opportunity for people across all races and socioeconomic backgrounds to unite and demand real accountability for all injustice perpetrated by forms of systemic racism. It is time for all to become a part of the solution.

As citizens it is our responsibility to hold politicians to task to pursue meaningful reform and not just lip service. Policies that recognize and address racial disparities have to be enacted and implemented. These policies have to go beyond just addressing police brutality and mass incarceration. The climate crisis is very much a racial crisis. Black communities are dying from toxic air pollution exposure-related deaths at higher rates than the national average. This is partly because corporate polluters, including the Florida sugar industry, are permitted to dump toxic pollution on lower-income communities of color while white communities are afforded more protection. This environmental injustice is now contributing to the higher rates of COVID-19 deaths in black and brown communities all over the United States, the Glades included. This environmental racism is allowed by regulatory policies; corporate polluters are permitted to profit at the expense of black and brown lives. We must push for clean energy and regenerative agriculture solutions that can provide green jobs that uplift rather than pollute frontline communities.

Commissioner Fried, you have the power to “make changes to repair the injustice of yesterday and today.” If you do not protect the communities of color in the Glades your words will ring hollow. You will either work to stop pre-harvest sugar field burning or continue to be part of the problem by upholding the forms of systemic racism present in Florida’s sugarcane burning regulations and practices.

This is the moment for you to act to transform the Glades into a more just place for people of color to breathe, live, and raise their families.

Signed, 

Stop The Burn Campaign Leadership Team

Fred Brockman

Sister Laura Cavanaugh

June Downs

Anne Haskell

Brittany Ingram

Elaine Lavallee

Catherine Martinez

Steve Messam

Elena Michel

Kina Phillips

Shanique Scott

Kathey Sullivan

Richard Sullivan

Patrick Ferguson, Sierra Club Organizing Representative

....................................................................

Link to Letter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14sHkmtGCiyCaz03E_HY7Sfv-4AZYohUh/view?usp=sharing

Link to Commissioner Fried Twitter feed: 

https://twitter.com/nikkifried/status/1267275088484851713 

Link to April 27, 2020 joint letter: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B6cwM8ifhpTGMVawQij4QVWTJirDE7Wv/view?usp=sharing

Stop The Burn Campaign Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

We, the Stop The Burn Campaign leadership and Sierra Club, believe systemic racism is a cancerous tumor that if not treated will ultimately prove fatal to our society. We believe injustice perpetrated on one is an injustice perpetrated on all. Injustice to one community is an injustice to all communities. Disproportionate police brutality on communities of color, mass incarceration, discriminatory lending practices, lack of access to health care, disproportionate exposure to pollution, and many other forms of racial discrimination imposed on black and brown people reflect a system that does not value all lives equally. Our society and collective humanity will continue to decay until our laws, principals and culture place a value on all human life equally, regardless of race or income. This is why both the Stop The Burn Campaign and the Sierra Club firmly stand in solidarity with protests and movements across the nation demanding an end to systemic racism in its many forms.

It is a shame that tragic events like the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and far too many others have to occur to draw our collective attention to the insidious injustices of systemic racism in our country. White Americans have the privilege of ignoring these many issues whereas black and brown Americans, unfortunately, have to experience such injustices as a reality day in and day out. We hope this tough time can create an opportunity for people across all races and socioeconomic backgrounds to unite and demand real accountability for all injustice perpetrated by forms of systemic racism. It is time for all to become a part of the solution.

We must hold our politicians to task to pursue meaningful reform and not just lip service. Policies that recognize and address racial disparities have to be enacted and implemented. These policies have to go beyond just addressing police brutality and mass incarceration. The climate crisis is very much a racial crisis. Black communities are dying from toxic air pollution exposure-related deaths at higher rates than the national average. This is partly because corporate polluters, including industrial agriculture, are permitted to dump toxic pollution on lower-income communities of color while white communities are afforded more protection from pollution and other climate change-related impacts. This environmental injustice is now contributing to the higher rates of COVID-19 deaths in black and brown communities all over the United States. This environmental racism is allowed by regulatory policies; corporate polluters are permitted to profit at the expense of black and brown lives. We must push for clean energy and regenerative agriculture solutions that can provide green jobs that uplift rather than pollute frontline communities.

We hope this becomes a watershed moment for transforming into a more just society.

Signed,

Stop The Burn Campaign Glades Community Leadership Team

Fred Brockman
Sister Laura Cavanaugh
June Downs
Anne Haskell
Brittany Ingram
Elaine Lavallee
Catherine Martinez
Steve Messam
Elena Michel
Kina Phillips
Shanique Scott
Kathey Sullivan
Richard Sullivan

Patrick Ferguson, Sierra Club Organizing Representative