Author name: bruce

A far-reaching Senate water bill will be amended to address concerns raised by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the bill’s sponsor said Thursday. SB 550 by Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, resulted from hearings held around the state as a Senate panel heard about threats of pollution and over-pumping to Florida’s springs, rivers and […]

A bill reauthorizing the Florida Department of Community Affairs received unanimous Senate approval Thursday, but the bill could face a challenge in the House. The Legislature in 2006 established a “sunset review” process for state agencies to determine whether a need for them exists. DCA supporters have raised concerns that the department won’t be reauthorized

A House proposal to restructure the Florida Public Service Commission appears dead this legislative session. HB 7209 by the House Energy & Utilities Policy Committee was amended Thursday to remove language that would have moved the PSC regulatory staff to the governor and Cabinet. The move was proposed amid what a House bill analysis says

Gov. Charlie Crist celebrated Earth Day on Thursday by saying that residents have a duty to work together while Florida Forever supporters said they want more money for the land-buying program than is being discussed in the Legislature. Several businesses and partnerships announced initiatives to mark the Earth Day celebration at the Capitol as hundreds

House and Senate budget conferees have agreed to provide $2 million to the Florida Department of Health for an ongoing study of septic tank technologies. Meanwhile, bill language looms that would prevent agencies from reducing nitrogen pollution from septic tanks while the study continues. The study has been an issue for the past two years

The Florida House adopted resolutions Wednesday calling on Congress to roll back federal environmental regulations or not adopt new ones. The House adopted HB 1589, which criticizes the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed water quality standards. The EPA says nitrogen and phosphorus reductions are needed to reduce algae that is clogging waterways, but utilities

Twelve national and southern environmental groups called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay action on proposed new nuclear plants, including two in Florida, because of design flaws that raise safety issues. Florida Power & Light Co. has proposed expanding its Turkey Point nuclear plant and Progress Energy has proposed building a new nuclear plant

A bill requiring expanded public notification of contamination sites passed the Senate on Wednesday. SB 602 was filed in response to contamination at the Raytheon electronics manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg. Groundwater contamination was discovered in 1991 and the state was notified in 1995. But surrounding residents were not told until 2005 when the Florida

A controversial Senate water bill won committee approval Tuesday after the sponsor won support from home builders. SB 550 by Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, followed public hearings around the state last winter as senators heard concerns about algal blooms, pollution and overpumping of groundwater. Constantine told the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways

PSC Commissioner David E. Klement A Senate committee adjourned its meeting Tuesday before voting on two of Gov. Charlie Crist’s nominees to the Florida Public Service Commission. The decision left the fates of two appointees in limbo although Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, said that there would be another chance to decide whether