water
The Senate Committee on Health Policy unanimously favored a bill 11-0 to strengthen lifesaving drowning prevention and safe bathing recommendations for parents of new children delivered through hospitals, birthing centers, and home birth providers during a panel discussion this week. Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando) filed the bill (SB 606) in the Senate. The bill […]
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced that the state is accepting applicants for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Agricultural Regional Projects Program Services (FDACS) program this week. The initiative allocates $25 million in grant funding to support "regional, collaborative agricultural water resource solutions" to enhance water quality and quantity across the […]
In the wake of one of the worst droughts on record, Florida counties are working together to create a more sustainable water future. The Central Florida Water Initiative, on Sept. 13th, approved a 20-year plan that includes Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and parts of Lake County. As the population continues to grow, officials are seeking […]
The Florida Everglades is one of the largest natural ecosystems in the world, spanning 1.5 million acres from Lake Okeechobee down to the southern end of the state. Just how big is that? Everglades National Park alone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. It is also the third-largest national park in the United […]
The US and Mexico are at loggerheads over a treaty dating back to 1944 in which Mexico and the US agreed to a series of water-sharing actions over certain waterways, such as the Rio Grande. Among other requirements, the 1994 Water Treaty mandates that Mexico deliver a minimum annual 350,000 acres of water per year […]
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson has launched a $5 million grant program—the Water and Wastewater Treatment Facility Energy Efficiency Program—to support energy efficiency improvements in the Sunshine State. According to Commissioner Simpson's press office, the program will use the $5 million to improve publicly owned water and wastewater treatment facilities in Florida’s rural counties. […]
By Congressman Byron Donalds (FL-19) As an elected Member of Congress who represents Florida’s 19th Congressional District, I’ve always been a staunch advocate for maximizing the quality of water in Southwest Florida and the Sunshine State. Truth be known, public policy considerations surrounding water quality can be a convoluted and difficult topic to discuss—especially with […]
In January, Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) introduced her Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2023 to the 118th Congress. The bill would “prohibit funds from being used to finalize any rule or regulation resulting in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more.” Rep. Cammack’s language was […]
As the Florida Legislature moves closer to bringing the state budget in for a landing, Republicans in both chambers are expressing concern that without adopting the budget language contained in Senate Bill 2508, Floridians could be left depending more on Washington for their water. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ben Albritton (R-Wachula), was amended earlier […]
After Governor Ron DeSantis coined the term “Free State of Florida” in describing the state’s refusal to adhere to federally mandated mask and vaccine restrictions during his ‘State of the State’ address, it now appears as if the federal government wants to take the control of the existing state-controlled water levels of Lake Okeechobee during […]
In response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ recently-unveiled Lake Okeechobee water management plan (Alternative CC) that could jeopardize water supply levels for all of South Florida, Senior Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) said that the plan ultimately adopted by the Corps must have “balance” and consider the “economic and human” impacts. Rubio joined […]
When it comes to environmental regulation, legislators and administrators need to rely on data-driven, scientific evidence. Government, or the EPA, has an important role to play in creating environmental regulations to ensure a cleaner, healthier society. When drafting regulations, government needs to weigh all the evidence available, and to not give into rash action—rather, scientific data should inform all decisions...
This session, the Florida Legislature passed the most comprehensive and groundbreaking legislation to protect and restore Florida’s water resources. Just this week, Governor Ron DeSantis received our bill, SB 712, The Clean Waterways Act, for review and signature. It is my hope that he will sign it immediately so we can get to work and protect Florida’s water.
Florida Rep. Brian Mast (R) has really stirred the pot with farmers in Florida after he penned a scathing op-ed directed against U.S. Sugar and it’s associated farmers. The opinion accuses farmers of wanting to “steal” water from Floridians for their own profit.
The 35th annual Everglades Coalition Conference on Captiva Island went off as planned, but on the first day of the event, a group of Republicans showed up to protest Rep. Brian Mast (R) prior to him delivering the keynote address on Friday.
From the looks of how his first term in office has gone, it appears that Florida’s first “green” governor, Ron DeSantis, is making all the right moves, and coalescing a base of support that believes he is a consensus governor and could bridge all political divides.
Florida’s “Green” Governor takes another victory lap, as President Donald Trump’s newly-signed federal budget secured the $200 million Gov. Ron DeSantis and Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott requested for Everglades restoration earlier this year.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is tasked to manage the water flowing in and out of Lake Okeechobee, and as the group continues to plot a path forward and determine Lake Okeechobee’s future water level, a radical George Soros-linked Environmental group that has “proudly” sued the Trump administration 179 times continues to rub shoulders […]
