Tag Archives: Law

Official Guidance on HB 1205 –FL RTCW 2025-05-09

A new law causes much disturbance in collecting petitions for a Florida Right to Clean Water (RTCW).

Florida House Bill 1205 imposes numerous restrictions on gathering petitions to get a state constitutional amendment on the ballot, including substantial monetary and other penalties for not following this new law to the letter.

It was signed by the governor on May 2, 2025, so it is law now: Chapter No. 2025-21.

Here is guidance from the organizers of the RTCW campaign.

[FL RTCW Guidance 2025-05-09]
FL RTCW Guidance 2025-05-09

Florida Right to Clean Water
Official Guidance on HB 1205 as of 5/9/25:
(Updates will be posted on FloridaRightToCleanWaterorg/updates) Continue reading →

Help stop the stealth Florida plastics ban preemption bill 2025-05-01

Yesterday the Florida State Senate voted 24 to 13 for CS/HB 1609 to proceed.

The day before yesterday they took the text of the old bills and inserted it into CS/HB 1609, which has the misleading title “Waste Management”.

Several amendments this morning may or may not have removed the offending verbiage.

Please contact your Florida state Representative and ask them to stop this pre-emption:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/florida-house/

[CS/HB 1609]
CS/HB 1609

Plastic is one of the biggest pollution threats to our waterways. Continue reading →

GA-EPD Consent Order on Lowndes County for the Alapaha Plantation Subdivision Water System 2025-01-06

This long-troubled water system, run by Lowndes County to serve the Lake Alapaha Plantation subdivision next to the Alapaha River, in January 2025 got a Consent Order for the county to move along and fix it.

[GA-EPD Consent Order on Lowndes County, January 2025, for the Alapaha Plantation Subdivision Water System]
GA-EPD Consent Order on Lowndes County, January 2025, for the Alapaha Plantation Subdivision Water System

This drinking water plant has been getting notices of violation from GA-EPD since 2004.

In 2013 and 2014, Lowndes County spent at least $35,500 to fix it.

In 2018 the county spent another $16,915 to upgrade a water line for a private developer there.

In 2021, another proposal was for $173,000 to fix the same plant.

In 2024, Lowndes County tried a pilot of a potential solution, which failed. See The never-ending Lake Alapaha Water Treatment Plant saga @ LCC 2021-08-10.

Remember this ongoing expenditure of tax funds next time you see a subdivision rezoning on an agenda for zero BUDGET IMPACT.

In 2025, apparently some time in January, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) issued a Consent Order.

That Order was mentioned in the board packet for the April 7, 2025, Lowndes County Commission meeting, and discussed briefly in their April 8, 2025, Regular Session.

The bulk of the Consent Order is about Maximum Contaminant Levels being exceeded on many dates for Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA5). These contaminants form when river water is chlorinated for drinking use.

The Consent Order, received in response to a WWALS open records request to Lowndes County, is on the WWALS website.

The gist of the Order is on Page 14:

Conditions

Continue reading →

Bad Florida Boating Bill 2025-04-22

Florida Senate Bill 1388/ House Bill 1001 entitled “Vessels” if passed, could undermine vital safety and environmental protections for boaters and Florida’s waterways.

You can use this handy Waterkeepers Florida form to ask your Florida statehouse members to vote NO on this bill:
https://waterkeepersflorida.good.do/SB1388_2025/SB1388FP/

Or contact your statehouse members some other way (telephone, in-person, etc.):

This bill will be before the Florida Senate Fiscal Policy Committee when it meets at 11 AM, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

[Bad Boating Bill]

Fecal bacteria is one of the leading causes of pollution in Florida waters. One way that the state combats this issue is by Continue reading →

Save Our Swamps –Waterkeepers Florida 2025-04-21

Swamps and other wetlands are absolutely integral to clean water. Wetlands filter out pollutants, provide habitat for native wildlife, and absorb water during flood events. Senate Bill 492 / House Bill 1175 will make it easier for developers to destroy these important ecosystems. 

Ask your Florida state legislator to vote NO.

It’s on the Senate Rules Committee agenda for Monday, April 21, 2025, at 2 PM.

[WKFL: Vote no on Mitigation Banks Bill FL SB 492, FL HB 1175, 2025-04-21]
WKFL: Vote no on Mitigation Banks Bill FL SB 492, FL HB 1175, 2025-04-21

Currently if a developer wants to destroy wetlands, Continue reading →

SRWMD exchange back of Ellaville Tract for Riverview Farms Withlacoochee River land? 2025-03-29

Update 2025-04-02: Update Rock Bluff Management Plan, renew Woods Ferry River Camp lease agreement @ SRWMD 2025-04-08.

Update 2025-03-29: See also Florida buys Hardee Spring on the Withlacoochee River.

Why not buy the riverfront property?

It’s easy to see why SRWMD would want the Riverview Farms tract: it’s between two Twin Rivers State Forest tracts on the Withlacoochee River in Madison County and directly across from another in Hamilton County.

[SRWMD Land Swap: Gopher tortoises for riverfront, Ellaville Tract for Riverview Farms, Why not buy Riverview Farms?]
SRWMD Land Swap: Gopher tortoises for riverfront, Ellaville Tract for Riverview Farms, Why not buy Riverview Farms?

And SRWMD is offering to trade is not riverfront property; it’s the back of the Ellaville Tract. But it still has gopher tortoises on it: a keystone species that harbors up to 300 other species in its burrows.

If you want to stop this land swap, here’s a petition to sign:
https://act.audubon.org/a/ellaville

And call or write your SRWMD Board member and show up at their next meeting.
https://www.mysuwanneeriver.com/133/Governing-Board

Larry Sessions represents the Upper Suwannee Basin, including both these tracts. Harry Smith and Charles Keith are at large. Chair Virginia H. Johns has to consider the entire District.

Even better, if you know grasstops who have the ear of that Board, such as timber company Rayonier and cattle company Lukes Brothers, ask them to contact the Board.

Craig Pittman called gopher tortoise burrows “Nature’s Condo,” Continue reading →

Florida State Parks Love Fests 2025-04-05-06

Come to one of the Florida State Parks Love Fests, organized by the Suwannee-St. Johns Group of the Florida Chapter of Sierra Club, in conjunction with WWALS, OSFR, and others.

You remember last year, when a proposal for golf courses and hotels at Florida State Parks was postponed “due to overwhelming interest” (read: massive statewide protest) and then cancelled.

This year, we need people to help strengthen FL SB 80 and HB 209, which put some constraints on privatization plans, but not enough.

You can help online:
https://waterkeepersflorida.good.do/SB80_2025/SB80_Sponsors/

And you can come down to a state park on the Suwannee or Santa Fe River next weekend.

[Florida State Parks, Love Fests 2025-04-05-06, Suwannee River SP, Manatee Springs, O'Leno SP, Gilchrist Blue Spring]
Florida State Parks, Love Fests 2025-04-05-06, Suwannee River SP, Manatee Springs, O’Leno SP, Gilchrist Blue Spring

On the Suwannee River: Continue reading →

Pictures: Georgia House Committee meeting on Okefenokee Bills 2025-03-03

Numerous people spoke to support the Okefenokee Swamp against mining too near it, about two bills before a subcommittee of the Georgia House Natural Resources and Environment Committee (GA HNRE), on March 3, 2025.

[Speakers on Okefenokee Bills, GA HNRE Comm. 2025-03-03, No action by Crossover Day, But already introduced for 2026]
Speakers on Okefenokee Bills, GA HNRE Comm. 2025-03-03, No action by Crossover Day, But already introduced for 2026

Unfortunately, that was just a hearing, and the Committee did not vote on those bills in any later meeting, either. Which means they did not get a chance for a vote by the full House before Crossover Day. Crossover Day was Thursday, March 6, 2025, after which any bills that passed in one house crossed over to the other house for their consideration.

The good news is that it is a two-year session, so these bills are already introduced for next year: HB 561 and HB 562. Continue reading →

WKFL PIEC Panel and RTCW 2025-02-21

Every year, the fifteen Waterkeepers of Florida gather at the law-student-run Public Interest Environmental Conference (PIEC) at the Levin School of Law of the University of Florida, in Gainesville.

[Waterkeepers Florida, Panel at PIEC, UFL, Gainesville, FL, Right to Clean Water (RTCW)]
Waterkeepers Florida, Panel at PIEC, UFL, Gainesville, FL, Right to Clean Water (RTCW)

This year we had a panel, about sewage sludge, wetland buffers, the climate water nexus, and I spoke about Right to Clean Water (RTCW).

Waterkeepers Florida is a regional entity composed of all 15 Waterkeeper organizations working in the State of Florida to protect and restore our water resources across over 45,000 square miles of watershed, which is home to over 15 million Floridians. Part scientist, teacher, and legal advocate, Waterkeepers combine firsthand knowledge of their waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of their communities and to the rule of law. Whether on the water, in a classroom, or in a courtroom, Waterkeepers speak for the waters they defend – with the backing of their local community and the collective strength of Waterkeeper Alliance. Join Waterkeepers from across the state for a discussion of current and future projects to protect our state’s waterways.
https://www.waterkeepersflorida.org Continue reading →

Georgia House Committee meeting on Okefenokee Bills Monday 1PM 2025-03-03

Monday at 1PM or after the House adjourns, the Georgia House Natural Resources and Environment Committee (HNRE) will meet to consider the two bills against mining near the Okefenokee Swamp.

This is the committee where previous bills have died. So this is a very important meeting. Please contact your Georgia Statehouse Representative.

Feel free to mention that many city councils and county commissions have passed resolutions supporting the Okefenokee Swamp against mining. And all the Riverkeepers of Georgia and Waterkeepers of Florida have written letters.
https://wwals.net/pictures/okefenokee-resolutions/

Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends, relatives, and business associates to do the same. And you can contact those Representatives directly. Part of the Okefenokee Swamp is in Florida, and all of it is upstream from Florida, on the St. Marys River and the Suwannee River, of the Florida state song.

To find your legislator (and see below):
http://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

[Georgia House Committee Meeting 2025-03-03 1 PM, on Okefenokee Bills, Natural Resources and the Environment]
Georgia House Committee Meeting 2025-03-03 1 PM, on Okefenokee Bills, Natural Resources and the Environment

These are the bills:

More about those bills here:
https://wwals.net/?p=67055 Continue reading →