Thanks to all who helped here, we have some good news. Thanks to OSFR board member Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and member Hilda Gilcrist for attending this committee meeting.
The following was sent out by the Florida Springs Council.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
We are celebrating another major win for Florida’s environment this Legislative Session. Yesterday, Senate Bill 1126, the bill that would have preempted local governments and state agencies including our state parks from regulating plastic pollution, was temporarily postponed and pulled from the Community Affairs Committee agenda.
This was the last time the committee was scheduled to meet this session, so we are hopeful the bill will not be heard again this Legislative Session and single-use container bans in our state parks and local communities will remain in place.
Springs advocates and environmentalists across the State worked together to defeat this bad bill. We are thankful for our members and partner organizations including Surfrider Foundation, Oceana, Sierra Club, Sea Turtle Conservancy as well as many local groups – like Our Santa Fe River, Ichetucknee Alliance, Rainbow River Conservation, and Friends of the Wekiva River – who all worked incredibly hard to stop this bill.
This is a massive win for all of Florida’s environment, and it would not have been possible without the thousands of emails and calls the committee received in opposition of this bill. Over 1,000 emails were sent through our online advocacy system to the members of the Senate Community Affairs Committee. We also had over a dozen springs advocates join us in Tallahassee yesterday prepared to speak against the bill.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Senator Jennifer Bradley who took a major stand to protect the springs and state parks throughout Florida including Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the Santa Fe River. Our group of springs advocates was able to meet with Senator Bradley’s office ahead of the committee meeting and explained the concerns riverfront homeowners, business owners and river cleanup groups had with SB 1126.
When we work together we can defeat the largest polluters and regulated industries in all of Florida. Let’s continue working together to protect our springs, rivers and coastal communities.
Congratulations, springs protectors!
Ryan Smart
FSC Executive Director
Kudos! Job well done by all!