The obvious water constitutional amendments passed resoundingly in both Florida and Georgia.
By well more than the required 60%, Continue reading
Tag Archives: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Georgia and Florida Constitutional Amendments 2018-11-06
Two Georgia state constitutional amendments are relevant to clean water, of those on the ballot tomorrow in the November 6, 2018, General Election. And in Florida, vote Yes on Florida Amendment 9, to ban offshore oil and gas drilling.
In Georgia I recommend:
- Yes on 1, the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Amendment
- No on 2, appointing instead of electing some judges
Below is why.
Yes on GA 1, Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Amendment
For the title, summary, and detailed constitutional changes, see Continue reading
FDEP now maps last 30 days of spills
Pollution spill maps online, up to date, with interactive links to details: Florida is doing it, and so can Georgia.
For more than a year FDEP has been posting spill reports online in a spreadsheet the same day it gets them, with email notice signup (Alabama also does that). FDEP has added a Public Notice of Pollution (PNP) Finder: Last 30 Days, which helps a lot in finding spills in our watersheds.
Did you know there was a Phosphoric Acid spill at White Springs last week, on Continue reading
Florida Waterkeepers United visit FDEP 2018-08-01
Seven of the fourteen Florida Waterkeepers visited the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to express our serious concern and a sense of urgency to protect and restore Florida’s rivers, coast, bays, estuaries, lakes, springs, and aquifer, especially about resiliency after hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, BMAPs, and phosphate mines. I congratulated Noah Valenstein on his meteoric rise: only two and a half years ago he was just starting as head of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD), and now he’s the head of FDEP.
L-R: Andy Hayslip (Tampa Bay Waterkeeper),
Georgia Ackerman (Apalachicola Riverkeeper),
Marty Baum (Indian Riverkeeper),
Jen Lomberk (Matanzas Riverkeeper),
Drew Bartlett (Deputy Secretary for Ecosystem Restoration, FDEP),
Whitney Gray (Administrator, Florida Resilient Coastlines, FDEP),
Rick Frey (St. Marys Riverkeeper),
Lisa Rinaman (St. Johns Riverkeeper),
Noah Valenstein (Secretary, FDEP),
Shannon Blankinship (Advocacy Director, St. Johns Riverkeeper),
John S. Quarterman (hat, Suwannee Riverkeeper),
Tom Frick (back, Director, Division of Environmental Restoration, FDEP); Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS
Press Release: Florida Waterkeepers Unite at FDEP
Continue readingFinal Suwannee River BMAP 2018-05-22
Did you know the Final Suwannee River BMAP was released last week? Apparently not many others did, either. Here’s the letter I sent FDEP about that.
June 4, 2018
Mr. Noah Valenstein, Secretary
Dept. of Environmental Protection Continue reading
FGT pipeline noise, Suwannee County 2018-02-25
It sounded like a jet engine Wednesday evening, said a WWALS member as a pipeline let loose in Suwannee County. (Hear it for yourself in WWALS videos four days later.) Was it a leak? A planned release? A road construction break? We get no answers, just runarounds, from the federal and state agencies that permitted all the interstate natural gas pipelines into Florida. They passed the buck to Suwannee County Fire Rescue. At least Suwannee BOCC opposed the Sabal Trail pipeline and approved a solar farm.
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS 2018-02-25 of FGT at Suwannee Oaks Drive.
Neighbors preparing to evacuate February 21, 2018, confirmed the location: just north of 208th Street, at Continue reading
FDEP Water Quality Monitoring Plans 2018
Thanks to Jay Bushnell for the heads-up on this FDEP notice of February 6, 2018:
Impaired Waters Rule (IWR) Notification
The department announces the availability of the 2018 Strategic Monitoring Plans. These plans represent the water quality and biological monitoring needs identified by the department in preparation for basin assessments as part of the watershed management approach.
The Watershed Assessment Section developed Continue reading
Manatee Springs State Park Public Meeting 2018-01-09
Received from FDEP yesterday afternoon (not much notice), Manatee Springs State Park to Host Public Meeting,
CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT
CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us
Manatee Springs State Park to Host Public Meeting
~The public is invited to provide comments on the draft plan~WHAT: Public Meeting
WHEN: Jan. 9, 2018
5:30 — 7:30 p.m.WHERE: Chiefland Women’s Club
825 E. Park Ave.
Chiefland, FL 32626DEP’s Florida Park Service is in the process of updating the unit management plan for Manatee Springs State Park. Citizens are invited to attend a public meeting to learn about the proposed plans for the state park and provide their comments.
Continue reading
A Resolution Against Phosphate Mines in Florida –Florida Waterkeepers 2017-12-18
Update 2018-12-30: The new organization WATERKEEPERS Florida, as one of its first acts, on December 19, 2018, signed the Resolution Against Phosphate Mines in Florida, thus committing all thirteen of its member organizations.
Update 2018-11-13: Miami Waterkeeper has signed, bringing it to a round dozen Florida Waterkeepers.
Update 2018-08-18: Calusa Waterkeeper has also signed, bringing it to 11 of the 14 Waterkeepers in Florida. (See also PDF.)
Update 2018-08-01: Five additional signers: Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Indian Riverkeeper, St. Marys Riverkeeper, and Collier County Waterkeeper. Seven of us delivered this resolution in person to FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein.
Delivered via email as PDF to the Union BOCC before their phosphate mine workshop of Monday, December 18, 2017.
A Resolution
Against Phosphate Mines in Florida
WHEREAS, Waterkeeper Alliance Members are obligated and dedicated to protect the water resources, citizens’ interests, and related benefits in their jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, phosphate mines have been shown to threaten and cause actual harm to these
resources, interest, and related benefits; and
WHEREAS, there are several phosphate mine projects in various stages of permitting in local, state, and federal agencies including county and city governments, Water Management Districts (WMDs), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); and
WHEREAS, there seems to be no public list of current phosphate mines and related facitlities, which include at least
Continue readingPilgrim’s Pride to pay $1.43 million Suwannee River pollution to settle lawsuit by Environment Florida and Sierra Club 2017-11-14
Despite what we heard at the BMAP meeting Tuesday, it turns out Best Management Practices (BMP) are not all that can be done to fix fertilizer nitrate runoff in the Suwannee Rier Basin. “More than $1 million of the Pilgrim’s penalty would fund a program to help nearby farmers reduce their pollution as well.” The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS) could also ask the legislature for further such funding, in addition to recommending BMPs. Congratulations, Environment Florida and Sierra Club, for doing what the state of Florida has not!
Photo: Dominic Gheesling for WWALS on Southwings flight 22 October 2016,
Pilgrims Pride, US 90, 30.3648380, -83.1636130
Another chicken breeder is setting up in the Suwannee River Basin, near Quitman in Brooks County Georgia, next to Okapilco Creek, which flows into the Withlacoochee River and then the Suwannee River. We’ll be watching.
- Video by Environment Florida, starring Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson (Sierra Club), Jeniffer Rubiello (Environment Florida), and Heather Govern (attorney, National Environmental Law Center), and Whitey Markle (Suwannee-St Johns Group, Sierra Club Florida). Continue reading