Following an uproar last month over a draft proposal to ban plastic and paper shopping bags, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday holds another public workshop on whether to regulate bags. DEP last month withdrew a draft report that recommended taxing bags by up to 25 cents each and then banning them by […]
DEP meeting follows withdrawal of retail bags ban report Read More »
Bald Point State Park, purchased by the state under the Florida Forever predecessor program. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet today approved a resolution issuing $250 million in bonds for buying conservation lands, representing the last money approved by the Legislature for the program. Florida Forever program is the largest land-buying program in the nation,
Cabinet approves land-buying bonds, Keys oversight Read More »
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle today said he will approve a legal settlement that calls for the federal government to set specific water quality standards for nutrients in Florida — a move that industry groups and Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson have opposed. Florida now prohibits excessive nitrogen and phosphorus that cause an imbalance of
Judge backs enviro groups, EPA settlement Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today backed off a proposal to ban the sale of raw oysters from Gulf states during summer months by 2011. The federal agency instead says it plans to study the issue and work with industry to develop a new timetable for possibly requiring the treatment of raw oysters. The
FDA delays raw oyster ban, Florida reaction mixed Read More »
Virginia Wetherell, left, speaks to reporters while Colleen Castille waits to speak. Both are former Florida DEP secretaries. Opponents of federal water quality standards for nutrients in Florida waterways raised their level of opposition today, unveiling a Web site and two former state environmental chiefs who are on their side. Scientists say nutrients from a
Two Florida DEP heads join opposition to EPA standards Read More »
Saying that it wants more flexibility, the Florida Public Service Commission today unanimously directed its staff to develop new proposed conservation goals for seven utilities by Dec. 1. Environmental groups had objected to the PSC staff recommendations, which they said in some cases established weaker goals than the state’s largest utilities had proposed. The commission,
Florida PSC wants to consider new conservation goals Read More »
Senate President Jeff Atwater today announced that Senate committee staff would conduct a detailed and comprehensive review of the implications of offshore drilling with no timeline for completion. The House earlier this year approved a bill to allow oil drilling in Florida’s Gulf waters as close as three miles to the coast. But the Senate
Senate president calls for study of “complicated” drilling issue Read More »
Some Florida elected officials this week urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration not to ban raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico during warmer months. The FDA proposes banning the sale of raw oysters unless the shellfish are treated to destroy bacteria that are potentially deadly to certain risk groups. But Agriculture Commissioner Charles
Florida officials react to proposed federal oyster ban Read More »
Members of a Florida House panel complained today about the potential cost of water quality standards that could be proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January, agreeing with industry representatives who said businesses and households will be affected. Scientists say high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus are contributing to algal blooms in springs,
House members vent against EPA water standards Read More »
With the downturn in the state’s economy, Florida’s conservation land-buying program is sucking up an increasingly larger share of tax revenue from real estate transactions, a state finance official told House members today. Florida’s land-buying program is the largest in the nation, having acquired more than 2 million acres since 1990. But the program received
Florida land-buying program absorbs more revenue Read More »
