As one of the petitioners at this hearing, your writer wonders what possible reason the judge could have to take over a year to determine the outcome. If the hearing is decided by right or wrong, in our opinion of course there could be no question that we are right, since the DEP has admitted the BMAPS will fail.
All photos by John Moran.
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
*Who Defends the Springs in Court?*
Today marks ONE YEAR since we stepped into a courtroom in Tallahassee for day 1 of an unprecedented legal challenge on behalf of Florida’s springs. We are still waiting for a ruling. Yes, it’s very unusual to wait this long for a ruling; in fact our case is currently the oldest unresolved case in the Division of Administrative Hearings.
Background: A 2016 law requires the state to create BMAPs (Basin Management Action Plans) for 30 of the state’s springs. The plans should be a roadmap to reduce the pollution, including nitrogen, that is degrading our springs. When the plans were published we saw that they were scientifically questionable, legally insufficient, and we knew that they would not help our springs if implemented.
So FSC did what FSC does: we coordinated springs groups and legal and scientific experts and worked together to challenge the Department of Environmental Protection to fix the plans. Our hope is that the deficiencies we brought to light during the hearing will be addressed and the plans re-written to better protect our springs.
Thanks for all of the support from the springs lovers and springs advocates that made this legal challenge possible – we certainly hope to be able to share a ruling with you all soon!
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