Florida senators and state officials Thursday took up where so many of their litigious-minded colleagues left off earlier in the week, taking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to task over its water quality standards. Those standards are set to be finalized in August 2012.
They are too strict, will cost too much, hurt Floridas economy and are scientifically unsound, officials said. Besides, the state Department of Environmental Protection is already developing higher standards before the federal government imposed the new rules, officials from the agency said.
We were proceeding forward with our plan for the development of numeric nutrient criteria, Jerry Brooks, director of the state Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, told the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee.
But after a lawsuit filed in August 2008 led to a settlement that prompted the EPA to impose its own numeric standards on the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in Floridas waters, it was before the state could implement standards on its own. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in water can lead to harmful algae blooms that in turn hurt the tourism and agriculture industries, two of the pillars of Floridas economy.
The EPA relied heavily on the research and data already conducted by the DEP, Brooks said, but still came back with standards that were overly stringent. The rules must be finalized by August 2012, but Florida will get a 15-month delay before they are effective. That time is essential for some areas to meet the standards or petition for different standards, since Florida has a wide variety of waterways.
It gives us the opportunity for those who have data today to petition for a site specific alternative, Brooks said.
Still, Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, was not pleased with the EPAs imposition on Florida.
What the heck is the federal government -- what is their handle to tell the state what is in their water within the sovereign state of Florida? said Oelrich, who is vice chair of the committee.
Other officials and local government advocates bemoaned the new rules and the costs they are likely to bring. They also doubted the EPAs science in developing the standards.
(The EPAs) slipshod program clearly unseats Floridas DEP program that is working. The science is absolutely slipshod and it has been very, very widely criticized, said Paul Steinbrecher, president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council.
Because the EPAs rule doesnt specify exactly how to implement the rules, it is unknown how much it will cost Florida to comply. Steinbrecher said the numeric nutrient criteria will demand reverse osmosis plants to decrease the nutrient levels in the water, dramatically increasing costs.
The EPA would have you believe it is a matter of a few hundred million. We spent $400 million last year. The EPA standard would require us to spend another $1.3 billion, Steinbrecher said.
Brooks stated that his agency hasnt spoken with Gov.-elect Rick Scotts transition team to see how his incoming administration would like to proceed with the implementation of the new rules. U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, the commissioner-elect of Agriculture and Consumer Services, though, has already stated his opposition to the new standards and his desire to slow down their implementation.
According to Diana Ferguson, legislative staff attorney for the Florida Association of Counties, the EPA is uncooperative and difficult to communicate with to boot. She was told it was against federal law to contact those involved until after the new rules are released.
I cant think of anything more backward that they can make rules that can affect the economy of the entire state and they cant talk to the stakeholders until theyre done. I cannot believe that, Ferguson said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
