Activists Say EPA Likely To Reject 'Worse' Florida Nutrient Criteria Changes

摘要

Environmentalists say that EPA is likely to reject Florida's draft changes to its water quality standards because they fail to meet the requirements for numeric criteria the agency itself laid out in 2009, and say the state's current draft standards are even less protective than the existing narrative standards that are meant to replace.Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) took comment through Oct. 18 on the state's suggested changes to its numeric nutrient criteria, and is expected to send a final version to to FDEP Environmental Regulation Commission (ERC) on Nov. 3. Under Florida procedure, any FDEP waste, water or air quality standards must win ERC approval. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. Seepage 2 for details. (Doc ID: 2379861)In addition to ERC approval, the Florida Legislature in 2010 passed a bill — overriding then-Governor Charlie Grist's (R) veto - requiring all environmental rules costing more than $1 million over five years to be "ratified" by the Legislature, so the Legislature must also approve the water quality standards when it begins its regular session in January. If and when the Legislature ratifies the changes, they will be sent to EPA for its approval.