The 2022 Florida Legislative Session kicks off next week in Tallahassee. Decisions made by our legislators this year will impact the health of Florida’s springs and rivers for years to come. FSC staff is working hard to advance good legislation and defeat bad legislation, but we can’t do it without your help.
Your emails to elected representatives are the best tools we have to make a difference this Session. Our goal is to give you the information and tools to make contacting your House and Senate representatives as easy and effective as possible.
Use the button at the bottom of this email to quickly and easily send a pre-written customizable email.
On Monday, January 10th, two of FSC’s priority bills, Senate Bill 1000 and Senate Bill 832, are on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee agenda. We need your help, please send emails before 4 p.m. on Monday to encourage Senators to Vote NO on SB 1000 and VOTE YES on SB 832. The button at the bottom of this email makes it quick and easy to contact the lawmakers considering these important bills.
OPPOSE Senate Bill 1000 (Nutrient Application Rates) by Senator Ben Albritton – SB 1000 allows agricultural producers to hire a “certified crop adviser” who can authorize the use of fertilizer above the maximum recommended rates established by the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). It will increase the amount of fertilizer applied per acre, leading to more pollution entering the aquifer, and more polluted springs and drinking water.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, farm fertilizer is already the largest pollution source to Florida’s springs and spring-fed rivers. It accounts for 42% of all nitrogen pollution to impaired Outstanding Florida Springs; more than septic tanks, wastewater treatment facilities, and urban fertilizer – combined.
Reducing farm fertilizer use should be the top water quality priority for our state, yet this legislation moves Florida in the opposite direction and undermines current state and local efforts to protect and restore Florida’s springs, rivers, and estuaries. If farm fertilizer pollution continues to increase, it will be impossible to achieve restoration goals in many of Florida’s most iconic springs.
The Florida Springs Council strongly supports the goal of keeping agriculture viable in Florida. But we must find a way to do it without destroying our water resources.
SUPPORT Senate Bill 832 (Implementation of the Recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force) by Senator Linda Stewart – SB 832 implements three recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force that have thus far been ignored by the Florida Legislature:
- Requires inspections of septic systems every five years, beginning with septic systems within a springs priority focus area.
- Requires DEP to assess the effectiveness of basin management actions plan (BMAP) projects that have a total cost of over $1 million and include the results in each BMAP update.
- Requires BMAPs to prioritize projects likely to yield maximum pollutant reductions.
Passing SB 832 is an important step forward in enacting the 2019 recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force and restoring Florida’s waters.
Now is the time to take action to protect Florida’s springs. The button below will allow you to easily send a pre-written but customizable email to the members of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee and ask them to VOTE NO on SB 1000 and to VOTE YES on SB 832. Take action before 4pm on Monday!
