Topic: FL Dept. of Environmental Protection

Lawmakers gave DEP authority to raise up to $40 million to buy land to conserve by selling state property, like five former state prisons. The department is now processing 11 land sales which could net $39 million.

This week, Gov. Rick Scott celebrates the end of the 2014 Legislative Session with a state-wide "victory" tour highlighting a state budget approved by lawmakers, Republican and Democrats disagree about whether the proposed spending plan includes a record amount for public schools and the NAEP says Florida students learning gains are flat.

Springs supporters were stymied in efforts to get more money to protect north Florida springs but a powerful ally in the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee secured funding for the Everglades and Indian River Lagoon during the 2014 Legislative Session.

Discharges from Lake Okeechobee flooded the Indian River Lagoon last year and smothered seagrass and oysters under a blanket of brown-colored water. DEP is asking the Corps of Engineers to review its operational manuals on the eve of South Florida's rainy season.

Rep. Steve Crisafulli, the incoming House speaker in 2015, said he will take a comprehensive approach to dealing with water issues. The Senate's spring bill was never heard in the House. " There was a lot of folks who didn't see that as being the right approach for what is right for the future," he said after the session ended. Senators vowed to be back with legislation in 2015.

On the final day of the 2014 legislative session, several environmental bills are ready for a vote in the Senate. But in the House, the question remains whether the springs bill passed by the Senate will be heard. "It's got as good a shot as any bill that's coming over from the Senate," House Speaker Will Weatherford said, before mentioning that a two-thirds vote will be needed to hear it on the House floor.

Among the issues to be decided by the House and Senate budget conference chairmen are spending on local water projects, agricultural water programs, conservation land-buying and the Lake Okeechobee-Everglades flow system.

A private water utilities bill passed out of the final meeting of a Senate environmental committee. The meeting also spotlighted problems with plastic bags and developers' criticism of how environmentalists have worked water issues this session.

HB 1153 and SB 1194 would establish standard reporting requirements for citizen support organizations and direct support organizations and a process for sunset review by the Legislature every five years. Friends of Florida State Parks is concerned the sunset review could discourage donors from giving money for state park projects.

SB 268 in 2012 authorized the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to seek sponsorship agreements at seven paved trails. The bill faced opposition from some trail users who said the commercial signs would intrude on the outdoors experience. A deal announced this week would earn the state 50 percent of net revenue, or $55,200 based on an earlier response by Bikepath Country, which submitted the only proposal.

HB 493 provides for appeals to the governor and Cabinet for decisions involving state park historical monuments. The measure was offered in response to a request to erect a memorial to fallen Union solders at the site of the Olustee Battlefield. Rep. Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City, voted against the bill and called it a "knee-jerk reaction" to a single incident.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government recommended a budget that includes $40 million for land-buying with revenue coming from the sale of conservation lands. That's less than the $70 million requested by Gov. Rick Scott and recommended by a House budget subcommittee chairman.

Proponents executed a procedural move to buy extra time for SB 800. Meanwhile, DEP says it will likely spend only $110 million of the $125 million it received for petroleum contamination cleanups this year but plans to spend all of the $125 million it is requesting for next year.

The amendment by Rep. Carey Pigman, R-Sebring, would increase the number of balloons that can be released under state law from 10 to 100 but only for funerals, memorials and church events. "If we object to 100 balloons, then why do we allow a lot of what else happens?" Pigman said.