2010 archive

Flint Rock WMA The governor and Cabinet today approved the state purchase of 2,849 acres in Jefferson County. The state will pay The Nature Conservancy $5.2 million, or $1,841 per acre, for the land, which previously was owned by The St. Joe Co. The land has been managed as a portion of the Flint Rock […]

Federal proposed water quality standards for Florida received more protests this week from Florida officials. Springs across the state have become choked with weeds and algae in recent years while toxic algal blooms have flourished in the St. Johns River and along the southwest Florida Gulf coast. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency on Jan.

Members of a House panel today were told that oil and gas production platforms built more than 13 miles offshore would not be visible from the coast. The House Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning is holding hearings towards developing legislation that would lift the state’s 20-year-old ban on drilling in Florida waters.

Florida’s conservation land-buying program was not included among 38 priorities identified by members of a House panel. The Florida Forever land-buying program is a 2010-11 budget priority for Gov. Charlie Crist and environmental groups. Florida Forever is the largest land-buying program in the nation with 2.4 million acres having been purchased since 1990. But the

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, today said elimination of the Florida Department of Community Affairs “is not going to happen on my watch.” Bennett, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Community Affairs, could play a key role in maintaining DCA as the chief state agency responsible for enforcing Florida’s growth management laws. The agency this

A state panel created by the Legislature to make recommendations on growth management and quality of life issues has produced its fourth annual report while it struggles with lack of state funding. The Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida this year has issued four recommendations, most of them suggesting follow-up action on previous recommendations. The

A manatee surfaces in Wakulla Springs near a tour boat carrying members and staff of the Senate Select Committee on Florida’s Inland Waters Eight Florida senators today heard from Wakulla Springs State Park supporters about their efforts to fight increasing nitrogen levels that have caused the springs to become choked with weeds and algae. The

A bill by Sen. Mike Fasano to require that communications between Public Service Commission members and regulated utilities be posted publicly was approved today by a Senate committee. Fasano, R-New Port Richey, introduced SB 1034 after the news media last fall revealed numerous contacts between commissioners and Florida Power & Light Co. representatives during hearings

In a report released today, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection backed off an earlier draft recommendation to ban disposable shopping bags. The Legislature in 2008 directed DEP to issue recommendations on regulating plastic and paper bags and banned local governments from adopting regulations. DEP in October released a draft report that called for banning

Venus purse anemone on a patch of Lophelia coral at 2500 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists’ lack of understanding about the complex relationships between marine organisms should be considered in the debate about oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida State University researchers said today. FSU is holding its second symposium