The state's most recent attempt at developing standards for water quality in lakes, rivers and estuaries is under attack from critics who say the draft rules won't satisfy the Federal Clean Water Act.
Members of the state Environmental Regulatory Commission next week are scheduled to review the Department of Environmental Protection's newest proposed rule to regulate the amount of allowable pollution in Florida fresh water. The proposed rules were updated earlier this month.
Among the most controversial issues is the use of water quality averages to determine whether a water body is in compliance or not. The rule requires multiple tests be taken at various times of the year from different locations. If the body exceeds the baseline standards two out of three years, the body is considered out of compliance.
The rules do not designate criteria for nutrient levels at the "end of the pipe," which means discharges of particular sources are not specifically monitored. Linda Young, of the Clean Water Network, said the lack of source-specific limits means that water bodies are turned into large mixing zones that literally dilute the harm caused by specific polluters.
"The state government's single-minded focus in protecting the economic and political goals of the regulated interests in Florida is short-sighted and undemocratic," Young said in a response to the Oct. 6 revisions. "The citizens and taxpayers of Florida understand the importance of clean water to our health, economy and quality of life."
Water-quality standards have been a major issue in Florida during the past few years, as business groups and many state and local leaders have fought EPA efforts to impose stricter standards through what are known as "numeric nutrient criteria.''
A 2008 lawsuit argued that the EPA had failed to enforce provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, despite an agency ruling in 1998 ordering states to comply with its edict to set verifiable limits on nutrient discharges that are largely responsible for algae blooms and other degradation of Florida's inland waters. Opponents contend that the criteria would force costly upgrades of facilities such as sewage-treatment plants, which discharge water into rivers and streams. But supporters say the standards would help clean up the state's waterways, preventing health and environmental problems.
A number of industry groups say Florida's water quality issues are unique, and better suited to state regulation than to a one-size-fits-all federal mandate. They also argue that there's no scientific evidence for the EPA-proposed rules.
Typical of the favorable comments received on the proposed DEP rules is the comment from phosphate company CF Industries.
"CF Industries remains concerned that EPA's controversial stream criteria, which CF and others have consistently maintained are not supported by science or appropriate for application as water-quality standards in Florida," said Craig A. Kovach, director of environmental affairs for the company in a comment filed on the proposal.
Monica Reimer, an attorney for EarthJustice, which filed the lawsuit that forced EPA to enforce the clean water standards, said the proposed rules appear to contain a number of loopholes that will allow the state to acknowledge the federal standards while maintaining more flexible state standards.
"It appears they are saying that, we don't think there is a cause-and-effect relationship between nutrients and bad things happening in the stream," Reimer said.
The ERC has scheduled a public hearing to discuss the new standards and take public comment. The commission is scheduled to take a vote on the new standards in December.
