Report for December 11, 2010
State of Florida v. EPA.
Reported in the Orlando Business Journal, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010.
“The State of Florida has
filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over
what it calls the agency’s intrusion into Florida’s previously
approved clean water program.
According to a release, the lawsuit alleges that the EPA’s
action is ‘inconsistent with the intent of Congress when it based
the Clean Water Act on the idea of cooperative federalism’ with the
states responsible for water quality and the EPA offering oversight.
Florida’s action is a result of EPA settling a lawsuit filed by
Florida Wildlife Federation in 2008.
The settlement forced the EPA to set pollution standards for
inland surface waters and coastal waters.
We have reported previously on this issue, including comments
by Florida’s Senator LeMieux who is opposed to these standards.
The Numeric Nutrient Criteria set by the EPA have been
labeled unscientific, unachievable, and cost to our state have been
estimated to be as high as $90 billion, and the increased costs to
residents on sewers could go as high as $700 a year.
Septic owners would also be impacted by rules formulated to
achieve nitrogen reduction and compliance monitoring.
Select Committee on Water Resources. In a letter addressed to the entire House of Representatives, House Speaker, Representative Dean Cannon announced the formation of a new committee. Named the “Select Committee on Water Resources” Speaker Cannon has named Representative Trudi Williams of Ft. Myers as chair, and Representative Brad Drake of DeFuniak Springs as Vice Chair.
Other important appointments have also been announced:
Rulemaking & Regulation Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Chris Dorworth
(Seminole County); Vice-Chair, Rep. Lake Ray (Jacksonville).
Rep. Dorworth introduced HB1565 last year, a bill that capped
the amount an agency rule could cost residents and businesses to $1
Million over five years. Any
rule carrying a price tag of more than that will have to be vetted
through this committee. The
bill was passed in the 2010 legislative session, vetoed by Gov.
Crist in June 2010, and the veto was over-ridden in November’s
special session.
Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee:
Chair, Rep. Steve Crissafulli (Merritt Island), and Vice Chair, Rep.
Rachel Burgin (Riverview).
Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee:
Chair, Rep. Trudi Williams (Ft. Myers), Vice Chair, Rep.
Steve Crissafulli (Merritt Island).
Hearings in these committees will be important to monitor as the
septic system inspections language and other provisions of SB550 are
debated and decided.
Editor’s Comment:
A comment made by Senator
Dennis Jones (Seminole, FL, Pinellas County) is worth repeating
here. Sen. Jones served
on the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee last
year. His comment was
made during the debate over delaying inspection until July 2011.
It’s worth repeating here because misinformation abounds, obviously,
and this is why we monitor committees.
Regarding delaying inspections Senator Jones said,
“This was a large part of the springs
bill that was about five years in developing due to Sen. (Burt)
Saunders and Sen. Constantine,” Jones said.
“With septic tanks being the number
one cause, or certainly ranking, of pollution to our springs and
our rivers, I’m concerned about taking this action at this time.”
Jones disputed opponents’ contentions the inspections would cost
more than $500, saying the price would actually be about $185. Gaetz
countered that the law would require inspections and “pump outs” of
tanks that did not pass inspections.
Sorry, Senator Jones, but even the Department of Health doesn’t
label septic systems as the NUMBER ONE CAUSE!!!
Also, it’s a simple thing to
have your legislative aide pick up the phone and call a local septic
professional and ask the hard question – “how much will you charge a
homeowner to do one of these inspections?”
We did. It was about
$500. Just the pump out
so the tank can be inspected costs about $300. $185 is not even in
the ball park.
This is the point…. Residents have a right to expect that decisions be made based
on RELIABLE STATISTICAL EVIDENCE AND HONEST ESTIMATES OF COST.
No doubt Senator Jones trusted his source of information and
thought he was repeating good, hard “facts.”
This kind of misinformation has been the norm over the course
of the past few years, and it’s an important mission of ours to try
to correct that situation, by communicating with our
representatives, doing our homework, and publishing it.
We have seen many instances of misinformation and opinion
presented as fact even in some of the newspapers. That’s sad, as the
misinformation tends to permeate and it sometimes leads to
unintended and costly consequences to our citizens.