Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressDecember 31, 2016

A Florida administrative law judge says a rule requiring companies to notify the public of pollution events within 24 hours is invalid. The new rule was pushed by Gov. Rick Scott after it took weeks for the public to be notified about a giant sinkhole at a fertilizer plant that sent millions of gallons of […]

Jim RosicaDecember 20, 2016

Screen-Shot-2016-12-20-at-11.35.07-AM-e1482251752717.png

Lisa Edgar has helped regulate the state’s investor-owned utilities. Now, she’s going to oversee its parks. Edgar was named Director of the Florida Park Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced Tuesday in a press release. She’ll start next month. “From my time at DEP and as a frequent visitor of our state parks, I’ve seen first-hand the […]

Associated PressNovember 11, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump has not minced words about his approach to environment and energy policy: He loathes regulation and wants to increase the use of coal, offshore drilling and fracking. Trump has said he believes climate change is a hoax and that he would “cancel” U.S. involvement in the landmark Paris Agreement on global warming. […]

Associated PressOctober 10, 2016

When Christa Savva returned to the Sandy Shoes Beach Resort a day after Hurricane Matthew brushed by Melbourne Beach, Florida, she looked at the beach in front of the pink-flamingo-colored hotel and noticed that half the sand dunes had disappeared. Savva guesses three-quarters of the missing dunes washed into the ocean, and the remaining quarter […]

Tamara LushSeptember 29, 2016

Neighbors of a huge sinkhole sending cascades of contaminated water and fertilizer plant waste into Florida’s main drinking-water aquifer are fearful and fuming that it took weeks for them to be notified about the disaster. Many are still waiting anxiously for results from tests for radiation and toxic chemicals in their well water. Meanwhile, the […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterSeptember 22, 2016

Moving residents off septic systems should be included in efforts to clean up the Indian River Lagoon, experts said Thursday. Experts said wastewater run-off and septic systems play a role in the algae blooms that have plagued South Florida in recent years. And while it is just part of the problem, one expert said money […]

Joe HendersonSeptember 22, 2016

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is angry — MAD, I tell you! — that Gov. Rick Scott is playing politics just because the city’s streets and waterways were covered in sewage following Hurricane Hermine. Um, Mr. Mayor? I suspect you already know this, but you have a lot bigger problems than the Republican governor of […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterSeptember 21, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to investigate sewage discharges in St. Petersburg. The Governor’s Office made the announcement Wednesday, just one day after Scott called on the state Department of Health to begin additional testing at the discharge site. While city is responsible for testing in the immediate area, […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJune 1, 2016

Lizbeth Benacquisto is calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to step up its efforts to ensure clean water is flowing through the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers’ estuaries. In a letter to DEP Secretary Jon Steverson, the Fort Myers Republican urges the agency to work with the South Florida Water Management District and other […]

Jim RosicaMay 11, 2016

A former member of the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission said the group doesn’t have “jack” to do. That’s why the commission — charged with reviewing rules to protect the state’s environment — hardly ever meets, the person said. The former commissioner asked not to be named. But a current member explained the body, whose members don’t get paid, always meets when there’s business […]

Tag: Department of Environmental Protection

Judge invalidates pollution notification rule

Personnel note: Lisa Edgar named state parks director

Donald Trump likely to try to reverse Barack Obama’s environment initiatives

Storm wipes out Florida sand crucial for protection, tourism

Outcry grows over delay in warning about Mosaic sinkhole, contamination

Water quality challenges focus of AIF Florida Water Forum

Joe Henderson: St. Pete’s stinky mess, sewage and politics

Rick Scott orders DEP investigation in St. Petersburg sewage discharges

Lizbeth Benacquisto addresses water quality concerns in letter to DEP

Environmental review board doesn’t have much to do