Lucinda Merritt has posed some thought-provoking questions in her op-ed below. Two especially strike a chord:
Do you support the use of science to guide public decision-making? Given a conflict or disagreement between scientific opinion and popular public opinion, which opinion would you support?….
Should Florida’s water managers prioritize preventing water problems over fixing problems after they occur?
In the first we must keep in mind that our DEP and water management districts sometimes do not follow science. They sometimes omit the data which do not support the end they want to reach (which is to find more water than actually exists so they can give it to polluters.) This is cheating and has correctly been called “intellectually dishonest.” Even when publicly called out on this, they may (and have) refuse(d) to change the result.
Indeed our water managers should attack the points of pollution for prevention instead of spending millions to study and try to fix the resultant fouled waters. Our State of Florida is not ready to do this because the polluters represent business/money and because they support our legislators with huge sums of money.
After reading this article we can see why saving our springs and rivers is not happening.
The Gainesville Sun does not provide a link to this article.
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 Makes the Decisions That Affect Our Springs?
Your Turn
Lucinda Faulkner Merritt Guest columnist
January 16, 2022
Looking ahead into election year 2022, some things are certain. Floridians will vote for a U.S. senator, a governor, state senators and representatives, and local officials. Campaigns will be costly, we will be bombarded with political advertisements and some candidates for public office may even mention the problems in our springs….
So, who make which springs-related decisions?
All voters participate at the most basic level in that decision-making process, while those people who choose not to vote give silent approval to current conditions in our springs. Voters elect representatives who make water-related decisions and appoint officials at all levels of our federal and state governments from the president of the United States on down to city commission and town council members.
The president of the United States appoints directors of federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, that make decisions affecting our waters. Working with the U.S. Congress, the president may also set or encourage policies and legislation that affect our waters. The president may sign or veto bills passed by Congress.
Florida’s U.S. senators and representatives write and pass bills that govern how (or if) water is protected throughout the country. If the president signs those bills into law, they may preempt or override state and local laws.
The governor of Florida appoints the secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the agency charged with controlling water pollution by enforcing laws and with overseeing Florida’s water management districts. Elected and appointed members of the Florida Cabinet (attorney general, chief financial officer, commissioner of agriculture, secretary of state and commissioner of education) must approve the governor’s appointee to head the DEP.
The governor of Florida appoints people to the boards of directors of the state’s water management districts. Those board members make decisions about who receives large water use permits. The governor of Florida, with Florida Senate approval, appoints the chief administrative law judge who hires other administrative law judges to preside over legal challenges to state actions, including challenges to decisions made by DEP and the water management districts.
Because the governor makes these important appointments, and because the governor may direct the Florida Legislature to encode specific policies into state law, the governor exercises a huge amount of control over how Florida’s water laws and policies are interpreted and how strictly they are enforced.
The elected Florida commissioner of agriculture oversees the Office of Agricultural Water Policy that works with growers to develop and implement agriments, cultural Best Management Practices that aim to improve water quality and water conservation.
State legislators in the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives write bills and either pass or refuse to pass bills related to water use, water pollution and springs restoration. Those bills may preempt or override local laws. The governor of Florida may then either veto the bills or sign them into law.
County and city commissioners and town council members make decisions about zoning and land use regulations that can affect water use and water pollution. Those local ordinances may be preempted by state and federal laws.
As you decide how to place your votes in November, here are suggestions for some questions you might ask candidates. The questions aim to get specific instead of general answers.
When was the last time you visited one of Florida’s springs? What was the occasion?
What is the connection between Florida’s freshwater springs and our drinking water?
Do you support the use of science to guide public decision-making? Given a conflict or disagreement between scientific opinion and popular public opinion, which opinion would you support?
What are your specific plans for improving flow and water quality in Florida’s springs?
Should Florida’s water managers prioritize preventing water problems over fixing problems after they occur?
Who are your top five financial supporters?
Do you consider concerns about water quality and spring flow to be “special interests?” (Remember that springs reflect aquifer conditions that may affect our drinking water, and our water supply is a common interest.)
What is the connection between the health of our springs and the health of our economy?
What is the connection between the health of our springs and human health?
Finally, please consider: After researching this candidate’s voting record, is this person someone you trust to make difficult decisions about saving our springs?
Lucinda Faulkner Merritt is a writer and springs lover who works as the staff assistant/communications coordinator for the Ichetucknee Alliance.
