Florida Republicans continue to place an emphasis on the environment as Rep. Michael Waltz (R) has scored a victory with his amendment to improve Indian River Lagoon Waterways.
This week, the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee unanimously passed the amendment. It would protect waterways and would include the Indian River Lagoon as part of the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act, which was sponsored by Florida Rep. Brian Mast (R) in the House and Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) in the Senate.
Commenting on the legislation, Rep. Waltz stressed that “as Floridians, water is integral to our way of life.”
Thanking Senator Rubio and Florida Governor DeSantis, for prioritizing clean water in the sunshine state, Waltz detailed that “this is a statewide issue affecting many areas in Florida, including the St. Johns River in my district and the Indian River Lagoon.”
So, he asserted that “if we want to keep our waterways beautiful, we must act to protect them.”
In addition, Rep. Waltz’s amendment will ensure that regional coastal waters like the Indian River Lagoon, Biscayne Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay and the Florida Reef Tract will be included in the assessment that the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science will be conducting “that examines the causes, consequences and potential approaches to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia” as a result of Rep. Mast’s bill.
However, even though the Florida lawmakers are making progress and receiving support from Florida Governor DeSantis, Waltz assures that there is still more progress to be made.
“This is just one step for our ongoing effort to keep our waterways clean,” said the freshman Florida Rep. Thanking Senator Rubio and Rep. Mast for their involvement in the fight, Waltz said that he is equally committed “to improve our water quality” and he looks forward to the bill passing in both chambers.
