By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM MIDWAY — The Northwest Florida Water Management District is in line to receive more than $10 million in springs protection funding from the state budget and could get as much as $21.5 million, the district’s governing board was told Thursday. The eight possible springs projects include $6.4 million for 1,077 acres […]
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Comments Off on Governor provides Amendment 1 spending breakdown
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTS Gov. Rick Scott’s office on Thursday provided a breakdown of how the governor requests $757 million provided by Amendment 1 be spent in the 2015-16 state budget. Amendment 1, approved by voters in November, provides one third of the revenue from an excise tax on real estate transactions to the […]
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Comments Off on Senate president says five-year land-buying work plan needed
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Sen. President Andy Gardiner said Thursday that a five-year planning process for land purchases and water projects may be a good idea following voter approval last month of Amendment 1. The amendment provides one-third of revenue from an excise tax on real estate to water and land conservation. Amendment 1 was […]
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Several Florida organizations on Tuesday sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to withdraw from a challenge to a Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan. Bondi came under fire in February after Florida joined 20 other states in filing a legal brief supporting an appeal filed by the American Farm […]
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Two Florida photographers, John Moran and Alan Youngblood, say they have seen the harm being done to Florida’s springs — and it is real. The rest of us can’t wait any longer to see for ourselves and decide whether to speak out. Moran, a former Gainesville Sun photographer, spoke on June 23 at a workshop […]
Saturday, March 3, 2012
BY BRUCE RITCHIE There’s new opposition to bills that would repeal a state septic tank inspection requirement: A Tallahassee official told senators this week that the bill could make it more difficult to restore Wakulla Springs. The Legislature in 2010 adopted a statewide septic tank inspection requirement that supporters said would protect springs and groundwater. […]
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Comments Off on Final day of session: Energy dead but growth overhaul, septic bills very much alive
Growth management, fertilizer and septic tanks are some of the environmental issues awaiting action by the Legislature on Friday, its final scheduled day of the regular session. Renewable energy, permitting and growth management were the big three issues heading into the session. There also was an outcry from some rural residents against last year’s requirement […]
Friday, April 8, 2011
Comments Off on EPA agrees to study new water standards in Florida
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to an independent review of federal water quality standards for Florida that were adopted last fall. The EPA says nitrogen and phosphorus have caused algae in Florida waterways and toxic red tides along the coast. The federal numeric nutrient criteria replaces a state narrative standard that environmentalists […]
Friday, March 25, 2011
Comments Off on Coley targets another section of last year’s water quality bill
Rep. Marti Coley has filed another bill to repeal a section of the SB 550 the water quality bill that passed the Legislature in 2010. SB 550 included a requirement that septic tanks statewide to be inspected every five years and it banned the spreading of septic tank waste on land in 2016. The Legislature […]
Monday, January 31, 2011
A senator whose summer beach trip was spoiled by high bacteria levels has filed a bill directing the state to investigate possible sources of beach water contamination. Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, rented a hotel room at Hollywood Beach last summer to stay with visiting relatives. But when they went down to the water, they discovered […]
Thursday, July 9, 2015
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